Killer
by WalkingPotterGirl14
Summary: Emily had always been a different girl from others. Being bipolar, that was kind of the usual for her. Not to mention she had pretty strange friends. But what confused people was the fact that she was always open, even after her trust had been broken so many times in the past. Even so, she still finds a way to break down someone's walls that no one had ever been able to do.
1. Sotski

**Killer**

**Chapter 1**

A woman is something that a man can't really explain. Men can't live without them, they need them. But when push comes to shove, women can be one very scary creature. They can go from calm to crazy within a matter of seconds. They could kill you and make your death look like an accident. They can be totally psychotic.

Emily Taylor was a whole 'nother stage of psycho when she lost it. Anyone who was in her path of anger, she would destroy. She was not afraid to hurt someone who was in her way. No one has ever been able to calm her down except her sister, who had know of her temper since she was a young girl. Her older sister was always protective of anyone who would kind of set her off. But Emily had been able to control it the past few years. Only a few words set her off.

Then again, she was bi-polar.

Always had been. She scared the kids in her preschool class when she had one of the biggest temper tantrums that some would call in history of temper tantrums. She nevre went to school after that. Had been home schooled her whole life to prevent anything like that from happening.

When she finally went off to college, her temper was more controlled, and she never had any snaps in temper or anything. And she was doing a really good job of it. At times, she would clench her fists and try not to scream, but those were the only times as of recently that she would seem on the verge of one. Other than that, she was ok.

The only other thing that had kept her online was something down at the shore. In fact, a few something. She lived near a giant lake, one that you could barely see the other side of. It leads off into the ocean, and there was something in the lake that had been Emily's best friend since she was five. She had befriended it, been with it almost every day when she went down form her house and down to the shore. It would come almost every day. It was still around now, when she was older. When she went off to college, she missed it.

When she came back almost six year later, the two had had a very emotional reunion. Now, Emily was down at the shore almost every day to make up the time they lost.

It was now three years into the zombie apocalypse. Emily remembered how much she loved watching zombie movies. Her favorite was one that came out only a year before the apocalypse started. Zombieland. She remembered the rules from the movie on how to survive. A few stuck out to her almost everyday.

a Kick-Ass Partner.

18. Limber Up

22. When in doubt, know your way out.

31. Check the back seat.

32. Swiss Army Knife.

33. Enjoy the little things.

As for those rules, she actually followed them religiously because they actually worked, believe it or not. Cardio, she was an all star runner in college. She was one of the fastest people you could ever meet. Kick-Ass Partner, she had her sister, who knew how to kill anything. After all, her sister had been an CIA agent before the world ended.

Limber Up, she always kept it loose and tried to stretch. Literally, every morning, she stretched before she went out because she didn't want to pull anything that could cause her to get potentially killed. And she always knew her way out when she was out with her group to get supplies. When looking in an abandoned car, she always checked all seats and under, just in case. As for Swiss army knife, she had plenty of weapons to have.

And she definitely enjoyed the little things. Her home in the forest had power because it ran on a generator. She knew people didn't have any warm food anymore, or hot showers, didn't have any real shelter like she did. And she was thankful for that. She was thankful for a warm bed and not to be abandoned in a tree somewhere, practically waiting for something to jump out and eat you.

She was walking down to the shore right now, letting the Maine early morning breeze roll around her face, sending her dark brown wavy hair flying behind her. Even if her hair was in a messy ponytail, it always ended up out of it.

Her black leggings were starting to become slightly looser. She hadn't been eatinf as much, but she needed to keep her family ok and let them eat. Especially Sammie. But they still looked pretty good on her.

She had on her white tank top that clung to her skin from the night before. She had had another nightmare, not screaming inducing, but it was a nightmare. And they were torture. Her boots crunched leaves as she made her way down, and she clung her sweater tighter to her body as another earth crushing breeze blew through the air, causing her to shiver and pull her sweater even tighter to her body. She needed a jacket for the summer mornings. They were as cold as a day in January up there, and she felt like she would become a popsicle soon.

She finally finds her way down to the shore and onto the pier, smiling as she hears the familiar call from her friend, knowing he saw her.

She leans down to the water and smiles as his white and black head pops up out to see her, saying hi. She chuckles. "Hey, Sotski," she says, petting his head.

Her friend was a killer whale. And he was happy to see her. He calls out to her as she pets him and she smiles. "How you doing? Did you get some fish? I got something for you," she says, pulling out a bag of fish, to which he happily splashes his tail in the water to let her know his thanks. She laughs, throwing a fish for him to catch.

She probably looked crazy. But who would be watching? She lives in Maine, very upstate. No one would be where she was right now except for the zombies.

* * *

**A/N: If you're wondering "WHALES IN MAINE? WTF?" its actually very common to see them there. And if you're wondering what the landscape looks like, it's this: . **

**I know it seems kind of weird, but this was an idea I got after watching 'Blackfish' Good documentary. Thanks for Reading! Reviews always help :)**


	2. Meeting

**A/N: Sorry if I may be kind of OOC with some of the characters. This is my first time writing in kind of another characters POV. But then again, this is my story, so if you don't like it, well then it's your problem then XD On with the story. :)**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Daryl shivers in the cold air of the morning. It was fucking summer and it felt like winter in New York during the day. What the fuck was up with the weather? Then again, they had been in Maine for a week now. Or at least he thinks. They didn't have anything to really tell them the group had arrived.

Most of the group had reunited after the Governor had destroyed the prison. It had taken a while, but mostly everyone was and was still alive. They started to head north, traveling every day, not stopping for anything. Most of them planned on heading to the center in Washington DC that had been claimed as a sanctuary that had no walkers in them. But that had been a lie, so instead of staying they kept traveling, looking for something. Maybe it was from some other place.

Daryl thought differently. He had lost hope that any place was sanctuary after the prison was taken from them. It had become their home, where they had made it safe, made memories. And nothing else would ever be like it.

Now, they had gone way north and were now in Maine. One place that Daryl never thought in his life that he would be in. He never even thought he would be leaving Georgia let alone going to Maine. And he had no clue even where they were in the state. They could b upstate or in the middle or just passed the border. But all he knew was that it was fucking freezing on a summer morning and he was not dressed properly for this kind of shit.

He grunts in frustration as he tromps through the woods, tracking the deer that he had seen about an hour ago. The group had set off camp about a few miles off in the other direction, and they were slowly dwindling on food and this would be a feast to them.

His mind races back to the group as he thinks back to some of the people. Most of them seemed to be ok in the mental state after being on the road for so long. People were still mad and sad about the prison being taken, but in the night they would talk, and sometimes smile. Maybe even laugh. Some nights it felt like a camping trip. But Daryl usually sat back and let the others do the talking, occasionally offering his opinion on certain things. His mind thinks back to Carol and he scoffs.

They had found her and he automatically didn't talk to her. It pained him in the inside, but this woman, who he thought of as his family, just killed two of their own. He knew it was to try and protect the group, but they could have survived! Hell, Glenn survived that shit, so David and Karen could have as well! He didn't talk to her for a straight month.

Slowly, though, they began to have the smallest of conversations, barely even conversations. She knew he would never trust her like he did again. It was just impossible, but at least she had been getting somewhere with him instead of him just plain regarding her as if she wasn't there at all.

Once he sees the deer in sight, he makes sure he's finally out of sight so the deer couldn't see him. Then, lining up the crossbow with the deer's head, he aims to shoot, but when the sound of a snapping branch echoes throughout the forest, the deer looks up, sees him, and dashes off in the other direction, causing Daryl to glare angrily at the animal.

"Son of a bitch," he snarls. 'That wasn't me!' he thinks, looking around him for the cause of the branch snapping, hoping to give it some of his mind. But when he sees a woman off in the distance, he frowns and looks a bit closer.

She had definitely been the one to break the branch, but from what he could tell, she had somewhere to be. She wasn't looking around, trying to see where she was and where she had to go. She was set in a straight line toward something. This woman knew where she was. Maybe she could tell him exactly where they were in Maine.

He walks behind her, several feet away, so that she wouldn't notice him, but he could still see her black combat boots trudging through the forest floor, trying to get to where she was going. He hadn't even seen her fully, but he wanted to make sure she wasn't some crazy bitch who would immediately stab him in the head if he tried to talk to her.

When he sees her finally leave the clearing of trees, he furrows his brow and looks closer. He didn't even realize this forest had an end. When he walks closer and hides behind one of the trees, he sees something that, well, he had never seen in Georgia. A giant lake, one that seemed to probably lead out into the ocean, and beyond were trees and little islands across the lake. The water was so blue. This was something you'd probably see on like a 'wish you were there' postcard or some shit like that. At least that's what he thought.

As he watches the girl like a hawk, he sees her walk down the pier to the very end, and he really takes in her appearance for the first time. And at doing this, he held his breathe.

This girl was too pretty for someone in the apocalypse.

Her brown hair was done up in a messy ponytail, but even so the loose pieces of wavy hair framed her round face, seeming to not have any dirt-or anything- on it. She wore a gray sweater that seemed to be too big for her. In fact, it looked like it was meant for an old man. But she still seemed to like it. She had on a white tank top that clung to her body, and black leggings, that reached the beginning of the combat boots she was wearing.

And she had a huge and bright smile on her face. Something he didn't see very often.

All of a sudden, he hears the distance sound of something. He knew he had heard that sound before, but he couldn't quite place it. He leans closer and sees that she has a bag in her right hand, filled with something. Whatever it was.

She leans down to the pier when she's at the end, in a crouching position. Suddenly, Daryl sees a black and white head pop out of the water, and his eyes widen. It was a killer whale. Like the ones they had at Seaworld. Like the one that had killed that trainer back in early 2010. There were whales in Maine?

He almost goes out to drag the girl back from her soon to be death, but then she sees the girl pet the mammals head, and leans back against the tree, watching the woman interact with the giant. She would say something, and the mammal would reply. Once it even splashed its tail in the water. He watches her take something out of the bag and he sees it's a fish, freshly catches. She throws it to the whale and it catches it in its mouth, then splashes it's tail, as a gesture of thanks. She giggles at the whales reaction, and he feels his heart speed up.

For some reason, it didn't faze him that she was friends with a whale. But the sound of her laughing…it was one of the most perfect sounds he had ever heard. Maybe it was because he hadn't heard someone laugh like that since the beginning of all of this. But it made his heart flutter and his own smile grace his lips, something that rarely happens with him now.

She continues to talk to the whale, and every time the whale would reply. And he noticed that there seemed to be no walkers around them at all. But at the time, his focus was entirely on the woman in front of him. Which was really bad. He shouldn't be watching her. But there was just this aura around her that intrigued him.

And then he stepped on a branch.

The girl looks up and he steps behind the tree, praying to God that she didn't see him. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid!' he chastises in his head.

* * *

Emily knew she saw someone. She knew there was someone behind the tree. She turns to Sotski and pats his head, giving him one more fish. "I gotta do something, ok? I'll see you tomorrow!" she whispers. The gentle giant gives one more call of friendliness, eats the fish, and then swims off into wherever he was going for the day. He would be back tomorrow.

She stands up when he's gone and walks slowly over to where she knew there was someone there. But being cautious, as she always was, she still asks. "Is anyone there?" she asks tensely. "I know I saw something. I won't hurt you," she adds on. Still nothing. "I only have a knife and a gun. Nothing to be afraid off." She snorts. 'That's the understatement of the year,' she thinks. "Please?" she tries. "I know someone's there."

There was no movement for a second, but then she sees a boot step out, then another, and finally a full body. She examines the man and notices that he is not dressed for a Maine morning in the summer. He had a sleeveless shirt, and was a mess. Covered in dirt. And also had a few bleeding cuts on his arms. She raises an eyebrow. "I'm guessing you're not from around here?" she asks.

He seemed surprised that she was even asking him a question, but he hesitantly replies. "Yeah," he replies. She chuckles.

"Need a bit more cover-up for the mornings here. Where you from?" she asks, walking closer to him. She noticed he had a crossbow in one of his hands, hanging. She had seen a few people using those in these times. She knew it was a smart weapon.

"Georgia," he replies. He was surprised at himself. Why was he telling this to a stranger? She raises her eyebrows at him.

"Really?" she asks astounded. "You traveled a long way," she chuckles. "I'm surprised you're here. Are you by yourself? Cause you seem to need a place to stay and all that. And a bath. You could use the lake, but I'd prefer you not to because the water I have at my house come from the lake," she adds. He chuckles at the statement, causing her to smile. 'He's cute,' she thinks.

"Nah, I got a group," he says. She nods, placing her hands in her pockets. 'He had a crossbow. He must have been hunting.'

"Were you hunting?" she asks. He nods.

"Was about to snag a deer when a branch snapped and it ran away. Pretty sure it was because of ya," he replies. She furrows her brow and thinks back, and then her cheeks redden. She had stepped on a few branches. She looks down embarrassed.

"Sorry," she replies cheekily. "I'm not really aware of my surroundings half the time, so…yeah," she chuckles. "But if you need food for you group, my house is about a mile back. Really big. I have food you could take back. Maybe even take a shower there. My family wouldn't mind." He looks at her surprised and suspicious.

"I don't know-"

"It's the least I can do for scaring off dinner for your group. I mean, it's your choice, but there's a lot of food," she persists.

He thinks for a second, just staring at the woman in front of him. She was a complete stranger, but if we were talking real legit food for his group, not some stuff he found in the woods, it would be paradise for them.

"Are ya sure your group would be ok with giving out food?" he asks. She waves her hand in front of her face, scoffing.

"We have PLENTY. You can have as much as you like." He thinks for another moment before nodding. She smiles at him. "We can even get those cuts fixed up for you. I'll lead the way back," she says, walking off in the other direction.

"Hey!" he says to her. She turns around. "Ya try anything, it's an arrow to the head." To his surprise, she laughs at his statement, shaking her head.

"I should be saying that to you," she laughs. "But don't worry. Normal woman right here. Not gonna hurt you. But you might hurt yourself if we don't get those cuts cleaned. Come on," she says, waving her hand and walking off. He raises an eyebrow. She had completely not been fazed what so ever by his comment. This girl was somethin' special.

He chuckles and follows her. Time to get food.

* * *

**A/N: thanks for reading guys! Please review! They always help with the story! And I might get ANOTHER snow day on Thursday. New York Is awesome. XD Hope you enjoyed!**


	3. The 'House'

**A/N: I'm watching the Lion King right now and I forgot how unbelievably sad it is. And I might make that a little cameo in this chapter. I'm not saying a lion is popping up out of nowhere, that would just be retarded. But they will be arriving at the house so who knows? They might be watching the movie. XD whenever I watch movies while writing they find a way into my story somehow. But if what I'm hearing at school, theres a bi chance I'm getting a snow day tomorrow. The snow is changing to rain later in the day, but the same thing happened last Wednesday and I still got to stay home. And the snow is starting at three, so I'm pretty sure I'll get off.**

**Then again, I tend to be bad luck XD**

**On with the story!**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

No words had been exchanged between the two as Emily led Daryl back to where she came from. The one thing that Daryl noticed was that she would always be looking around her, aware of her surroundings, unlike how he had been before when he was watching her. Whether she was looking up in the trees, ahead of her, on the ground, or plain looking back at him to make sure he was keeping up with her.

And she still always had that smile on her face. Even when they came across a few walkers, she just took 'em out, but still had the smile on her face. It seemed like nothing could wipe it off.

As always, Daryl didn't mind the silence between them. For once, in a very long time, the silence that hung in the air was comfortable. Not the awkward ones he would have with certain people. And he would examine her. He would notice how she looked around, how she walked, the way she moved, even the way her nose would scrunch when she took out a walker, which even though he hated to admit it, was kind of cute.

Every little thing she did got his attention.

Why was this girl so intriguing to him?

He shakes his head as she looks ahead. They had been walking for a straight half hour now, and he was wondering exactly where this place was. "Where is this house?" he asks. She looks back, startled by the breaking of silence for a split second, and then smiles again, causing his heart to do the exact same flutter it did earlier.

"Only about another five minutes. We'll be there soon enough. Your feet getting tired?" she asks. He doesn't reply but she sees him nod out of the corner of her eye. She chuckles. "Don't worry. We're almost there. It's deep in the woods, so it's a bit far. But every day during the summer I go down to the lake."

"How many people we talkin' at this house?" has asks. She thinks for a second.

"Eight, counting me and excluding the animals that we have. With the animals, it's twelve. It's a lot of people," she chuckles. "There's me, of course. Then there's my sister, Danielle, but people call her Dani, and her husband, Dan." He raises an eyebrow at this, but she waves her hand dismissively. "I asked the same thing. Just don't question it," she chuckles.

"Then there's their daughter, and my niece, Nat. Her names Natalie, but we call her Nat. Then there's my friend Jason, and his girlfriend Elizabeth. And then there's Ava and Emma, but we call her Emmie. Ava's four, and Emmie just turned one a week ago," she smiles. He looks at her from the corner of his eye.

"Who's the mom?" She looks down for a second and sighs.

"She was bit a few days after Emmie was born, and the mother said that I should raise her as my own. So I am. And Ava was my other sister's kid, but she was killed when all of this happened, so I took her as well. Wanted them to stay safe." He cringes inwardly. 'Jesus, she's lost a lot. And yet she still has that damn smile on her face!'

"Sorry," he says quickly. She shakes her head.

"It's fine. They weren't fit to survive this kind of world anyway. I'm happy taking care of the two kids. They are my kids now." He puts his hands in his pockets, thinking over what he was gonna say.

"No offense, but ya look a little young to have two kids." She laughs at the comment, turning to meet him. She had a sparkle in her eyes.

"I'm not eighteen if that's what you're thinking. I'm twenty-eight." His eyes seemed to widen at that fact. She chuckles. "I just have that sort of body I guess. But come on, we're almost there," she says, waving her hand over.

He follows her, thinking what she just said over and over in his head. She was twenty-eight? She looked like she was in high school! That age with that body…he shakes his head, trying to give rid of the thoughts he was having, but no matter how hard he tried, he wasn't able to shake the things he would think.

Until he saw the house.

"We're here!" she says brightly, walking a bit faster. He moves his legs quicker to catch up with her, but stops when he sees exactly what 'house' she was talking about. This was not a house. This was a fucking mansion. At least compared to what his group had been through.

It was built on a rise, a staircase leading up to the doorway, rocks on the staircase. The whole entire house screamed modern, and was black and a light brown. Plenty of doors and windows. He could only imagine what the inside was like.

She goes further up the stairs while he continues to stare at the house in amazement. She notices he;s not following and turns around. When she sees his expression, she chuckles. "You coming?" she asks. He's shocked out of his reverie and looks up at her. Same freaking grin.

"Ya…this place…" She smiles.

"I know. It's a bit much. But I've lived here my whole life. Come on. We need to get those cuts fixed." He nods, still dumbstruck by the modern house in the middle of the woods. When he reaches the door, she had already gone inside and was greeting some of the people.

"Mama!" someone yells, running up to Emily's legs. Emily chuckles and brings the four year old up in her arms, kissing her forehead and smiling at her.

"Hey, sweetie," she chuckles. "Where's Aunt Dani? And the others?" she asks. Ava points to outside.

"They went out on trip," she says. Emily sighs. They needed to tell her this stuff.

"Ok. Where's Nat?"

"In the living room. We watching Lion King!" she says gleefully. Emily chuckles and places her back on the floor.

"Go tell her I'm here, ok? Mommy had to take care of something." Ava nods and takes off into the living room. She turns around to the man who was still near the door. "Come with me," she says, leading him to a bedroom.

He follows her, still looking around the building, amazed that they had this place during this time. "How many rooms in here?" he asks.

"Ten. Four are open. But right now I'll just take you to mine so you can clean up and we can get those cuts fixed." His heart beats a bit faster at what she said. But he shakes his head yet again to stop these thoughts.

They go up another set of stairs and to the right. They then walk into a giant room that had a balcony on the outside. Looking outside, Daryl saw that it led out to the other part of the woods. "Jesus," he mumbles under his breath. But she hears, and she laughs.

"It's great, right?" She walks over to another room and opens the door. There was a bathroom. "You can clean up here. And please take long because you smell. If you need anything. I'm just in the room across the hall." She turns to walk out the door but then stops, turning around, facing him. "You know, I never got your name," she chuckles.

He stares at her for a second before clearing his throat, looking down for a moment before replying. "Daryl," he says. "Dixon." She smiles at him and shakes his hand, sending a small tingle up his arms. 'Get a hold of yourself, Dixon,' he thinks harshly. But that smile told him otherwise.

"Emily Taylor. Pleasure is mine. If you need new clothes, I'm pretty sure there are some your size in one of these rooms. Meet me after your done." And with one final smile, she leaves the room and goes into another, leaving Daryl standing there speechless.

'Wow.'

* * *

**A/N: Now I'm watching Monsters Inc. It's a very animate day for me. XD Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed! And review! Thanks for the one person who did! You made my dad today! Thanks again!**

**And if you're wondering what the house looks like: /?p=510**


	4. Offering

**A/N: SNOW DAY TOMORROW! Thank God! So happy yet again that I live in New York. And I just watched these two guy climb all the way to the top of the second highest building in the world. It was freaking insane! And made me slightly uncomfortable. I never even thought I could be so nauseous just from watching a video. I feel like I would get halfway, have a panic attack, and then just die there. XD but I'm so happy that this story is doing well! To be true I thought it wouldn't but it is and I'm very thankful for it. Especially since these chapters take a little less time to do and I can update faster :) So excited!**

**On with the story!**

* * *

Daryl stares in amazement at the bathroom that he was in. It was so clean, compared to some of the stuff he had seen. And it was huge. It had a giant Jacuzzi bathtub, and of course a stand up shower. Two counters with sinks and a toilet. And there was plenty of space to get clean.

This house seemed untouched.

Maybe it was because they were so far away from society. The house was located in the middle of the woods. It was at least five miles from the nearby town, and ten miles from the city. Only a half hour from the lake. They were so far in the woods they were safe. This place even seemed safer then the prison, and the prison was actually larger than this.

He sheds his clothes and steps into the shower. The floor was cold beneath his feet, but as soon as he turned the knob to the right, water flooded through the nozzle and landed on his body. He groans in pleasure as the warm water flowed down his back. He had gotten used to bathing in ice cold water, but he would never pass this up. It was warm water. And it felt fucking amazing.

He scrubs off the dirt and grime from his body, making sure to get at least a little out of his hair. It seemed no matter how hard he tried, he could never get all the dirt off. It was permanently stuck to his body because of all the dirt he had been through. Then again, he had never hated dirt. He hunted for God's sake. But sometimes there was something as too much. And now it seemed like it was not coming off.

Unlike Emily.

'Emily' he thinks. She was something else. She didn't even seem threatened by him at all, unlike most people were when they first meet him. She didn't even flinch at him. She was just incredibly nice, polite, and not to mention her skin was so clean…and that smile…

His growls at himself. He just met the god damn woman and he was already picturing her in these situations. He wasn't supposed to get attached to anyone, and the fact that she was being so nice didn't help at all. He shouldn't even be here.

But….he was.

All because of her and that stupid smile that convinced him. Perfectly straight, white teeth, so bright. It made him feel like he could touch the fucking stars. This was not good at all.

He shakes his head, trying to get any thoughts out of him, and finally turns off the water, after probably a ten minute shower. He steps out, grabs a towel, and slowly walks out, looking to see if anyone had ended up in the room. It was empty.

He steps out and searches through the drawers, looking for anything that would fit him so he could at least have something else to wear. And to be true, a lot of the clothes in the drawers were actually things he would wear. It wasn't sophisticated like he thought this kind of place would have. It was completely like him.

Once he had put on some clothes that fit and dried his hair a bit more, he remembered that Emily had wanted to see him when he was done, and told him she was in the room across from this one. He looks through the doorway and sees the door on the other side partially open.

Stepping through the door and peeking into the next room, he sees Emily holding a small bundle in her arms, and he realizes that this was Emmie. And Jesus, did she look good with a baby. He shakes his head again.

Listening closer, he hears her singing something lowly to the child, and he hears the child whimpering slightly, but had stopped. She must have been crying and Emily calmed her down. It was like how Beth did when Judith would cry. He listened a bit closer and listened to the song she was singing.

"_There is no, life I know, to compare with pure imagination, Living there, you'll be free, if you truly wish to be. If you want to view, paradise, simply look around and view it. Anything you want to, do it. Wanna change the world? There's nothing to it," _she sings, rocking the baby back and forth gently. The little girl smiles up at her goofily and Emily giggles. "You like that?" she chuckles.

"Ya said ya wanted to see me?" she hears behind her. She turns around and sees Daryl there, freshly clean, still a bit dirty, but cleaner than before. And in new clothes. 'He looks so much more handsome without all the dirt,' she thinks inwardly, chuckling to herself.

"Yeah, I did. Get those cuts fixed up. Then I'll find some food and send you on your way back to your group." She looks down at the baby in her arms who was slowly falling asleep. "This is Emmie," she says, walking a bit closer to him. He looks down at the child and couldn't help but let a small smile cross his face as the little girl looked up at him with big blue eyes, full of wonder at the new person.

"Hey, Emmie," he says. Her little hands reach out to him and Emily chuckles.

"Seems she likes you, " she says when Emmie takes one of Daryl's large hands in her small ones. 'Damn this baby's cute,' he thinks.

"Maybe," he replies. Both look up at the same time and make eye contact. Emily is the first to look down, blush covering her cheeks and she clears her throat.

"Let me put her in the crib and I'll meet you out in a minute."

* * *

"So, here's the bag and everything. Are you all patched up and everything?" she later asks when she was giving Daryl everything that he said he needed. He nods.

"Pretty good," he replies. She nods and backs up slightly, taking in his appearance.

"You look so much better after that shower. When was the last time you took a shower?" she asks. He shrugs.

"A real one like that? Not in a long time," he replies. She chuckles, leaning against the wall at the door, waiting for him to leave, but she decided something on a split second decision, praying to God that she didn't sound stupid.

"Hey, um…if you're group needs somewhere to stay, we have plenty of space here. I'm pretty sure my family wouldn't mind. They have yet to get back, but we have rooms open and ready," she offers nicely, her bright smile now firmly in place as she offers her house to him.

On a normal day, he would say no, thanks. He and his group had been down that road and didn't want to go again. But there was something about this place that screamed safety to him. Maybe even a home from after the prison. They hadn't found a permanent place in forever. And even thought he didn't even want to admit it to himself, he would actually miss her. There was just something about her that he admired, and if she was gone…it just felt weird now.

He hadn't even known the woman a day and he already was attached.

He was so screwed.

"I'll talk to them," he replies. If anything, her smile seems to get wider and even more brighter then it was before, and she nods.

"Great," she says a bit too enthusiastically. "I mean, uh, that's cool," she replies a bit clumsily, laughing at her own stupidity. "That'd be cool. Just stay safe on the way back. I'm sure your group is worried about you," she ends.

For the first time since she met him, he offers her a small grin that made her heartbeat race up. 'He has a nice smile.'

"Guess I'll see ya around. Stay safe," he says, finally walking out the door. She waves to him.

"You too," she ends, sighing as she sees him walk off. 'Please come back,' she thinks helplessly. 'Not to mention you're cute,' she thinks, chuckling to herself. 'I gotta take care of Emmie.'

* * *

Daryl had made it back to the group safe, and a lot had asked where he had been, where he got the change of clothes, and why he looked cleaner, and he said he would explain later, and they still asked. So he shut them all up with the amount of food he had. Bags and bags. He was surprised Emily had had this much food with her.

And that had successfully made them be quiet.

Every single time during dinner someone would ask a question, but he would never reply. He mind was still trying to decided whether to ask them to go back or not. He knew Emily wouldn't mind. After all, their group was smaller now. And it was safe, had food. Near a lake. They could actually be ok there.

Not to mention there was Emily.

He groans inwardly. Every single time. He needed to talk to these people.

"Daryl-" Rick starts.

"I was helped by someone," he says, interrupting him. Everyone was stunned by the sudden reply he gave. He hadn't said anything to the questions for the past half hour. And now he was replying as quick as day.

"Who?" Glenn asks.

"A woman. Emily. I was hunting a deer and she was the reason it got scared off."

"Did she kill it herself?" Maggie asks. Daryl shakes his head, chuckling slightly.

"No, she just stepped on a branch and scared it away. So she gave me all this food to repay and let me use the showers there. Warm water. And it isn't just a house. It's a mansion. She told me there's over fifteen bedrooms in the house. And they're huge. Only had eight people, and all of them are her family. Nothing dangerous. She said we could come back there if we needed a place to stay."

"She just offers like that? Doesn't that seem suspicious?" Carol states. Daryl knew she was just trying to not get close to anyone else, but Daryl didn't care.

"She ain't dangerous at all. Has two kids. One of the nicest girls I've ever met," he sates, taking another bite of his food, while Rick looks at him with an amused expression on his face. Daryl never said stuff like that about strangers. Daryl looks up and notices the face. "Don't look at me like that, Grimes," he warns. Rick chuckles a little.

"Is the place secure?" Daryl nods.

"I barely saw a walker in sight. Perfectly safe. Plus, there's a giant lake that's about a half hour walk. It's huge. Where I met her. Pretty cool animals in it. Saw a whale." Carl's eyes shoot up.

"A whale?" he asks astounded. Daryl nods.

"A killer whale. Pretty cool." Rick thinks it over for a second.

"This place sounds good." Daryl nods.

"It is." Both men exchange a look, seeming to have an inside conversation.

"We'll leave in the morning."

* * *

**A/N: I'll be sure to write another chapter in the morning on the little reunion and seeing the rest of the group. But a few moments between the two characters this chapter and next chapter they'll see each other again. I'm having so much fun writing this. Good night and thanks for reading! And Review please! Hope you enjoyed!**


	5. Welcome

**A/N: I'm so happy I got more followers! :) Welcome to the party XD So as I said I am writing another chapter. Granted, it's not the morning because I woke up at twelve thirty. This is what happens on snow days, guys. I just can't wake up early. I even completely ignored my alarm and stayed asleep. But since I was writing it late last night, a good majority of my dreams were Walking Dead related. XD And now I'm watching Finding Nemo. I have like no plans today. Then again, I'm also buried in my house because I got A LOT of snow last night. But anyway, my rant done.**

**On with the story!**

* * *

"Are you sure this girl isn't crazy or something?" Rick asks Daryl the next day as he was leading them to Emily's house. Daryl shakes his head, still looking ahead.

"She's anything but crazy. Like I said, she was one of the nicest girls I've ever met. Not to mention she has plenty of food there. She's loaded," he states. Rick looks at Daryl again, examining the way he was talking. It wasn't just the fact that her house seemed to be safe. There was another reason Daryl said they should go back.

"Daryl, is that all?" Rick asks lowly. Daryl looks at him with a look that said 'what the fuck are ya talkin' about?' "Is there another reason why you want us to head there?" he asks. Daryl snorts.

"Why would there be?" he asks calmly, even though on the inside he knew there was another. "Ain't shit. The place is just safe and she offered us to stay. Nothing to it." Rick keeps his gaze on him for a second before nodding slowly.

"Ok," he replies, still following Daryl as to where he was going. Daryl inwardly took a huge sigh of relief. Why was he freaking out over something as stupid as that question. It was just a place to stay. Nothing bad.

And Emily.

When they were there, Daryl smiles the smallest of smiles, a bit happy to be back. But when he was met with a gun to the face, it automatically diassapeared. But this wasn't Emily. This was one of the men she had mentioned,

"Who the hell are you?" the man snarls at them. Rick looks at Daryl.

"Who's he?" he hisses at Daryl.

"Why do you need to know?" another man snarls at Rick, pointing a gun at him. "Why are you here?" he asks, bringing the gun closer. Daryl puts his hands up, showing they meant not harm.

"We're not here to hurt ya," he quickly says. "Just-"

"Hey!" someone yells from the door. Daryl visibly now takes a sigh of relief at the sound of her voice. 'Thank God' he thinks. "Don't shoot Jason!" she yells, coming down the stairs, two other women behind her. She runs up to him and takes the gun while one of the others takes his arm.

"You know them?" the man, Jason, asks. Emily looks to Daryl and catches his gaze for a second. She offers him a small smile, telling him there's nothing to worry, and then looks back to Jason.

"Yes, I know them," she replies, looking over to the other two. "Dani would you calm your husband?" she asks. Dani chuckles and tells her husband to put the gun down.

"how do you know them?" Dan asks.

"He's the person I helped yesterday," she says, pointing to Daryl. "Their no harm. I offered them a place to stay." Dani makes a look of realization.

"Oh, he's Daryl," she says, sending a knowing look to her sister. Emily rolls her eyes at her, causing her to laugh. Elizabeth chuckles at the two, looking to the group.

"Well, I'm sorry about the behavior of my boyfriend," she says, sending a pointed look towards Jason who cringed slightly under her gaze. "But let us be polite, and introduce ourselves. Obviously, you know Emily. Dani over there is her sister, and the man is her husband, Dan. I'm Elizabeth, and this man right here is Jason." Jason looks down.

"Sorry for doing that," he mumbles.

"Just go back inside Jason," Emily says, pushing his back near the staircase to the door, causing him to laugh at her. She turns to the group, her eyes lingering on Daryl for a second. "And I did offer you a place to stay. I'm guessing you're here to take up the offer?" she asks. Daryl nods at her, still amazed that she had that same smile on her face. And then she smiles ever brighter. "Then I think I should know the names," she says. Rick steps forward.

"I'm Rick Grimes," he says. Emily smiles at him, and Daryl feels a twinge of jealousy inside him that she was giving him the same smile, but then realizes that it wasn't his in the first place and again shakes his head.

"Emily. Group behind you?" she asks. Rick points to each one individually.

"Carl, my son, and the baby he's holding is Judith, my daughter. Then there's Maggie and Glenn, Beth, Tyreese and Sasha, Michonne, and Carol. And of course you know Daryl." Emily nods, her smiles still in place. She wasn't about to ask who the mother was of the kids because she had a pretty good idea what had happened.

"Nice to meet you. We actually have a nursery here that has another little girl in it. We could make room for Judith there. And I'm sure we can all find space for you here as well. Plenty of rooms." Rick nods.

"I see that. Is this your house?" She nods.

"I've lived here my whole life. My mom was a big business person but she wanted to be secluded from the world a bit, so she had people build this place. It's pretty cool right?" she asks. Rick nods again, placing his hands on his sides.

"Yeah, it is." She chuckles and waves her hand in the direction of the house.

"Well come on. We'll get you settled in." She starts to walk up the stairs and notices Daryl right next to her. "I had a feeling you would come back," she whispers to him. She hears him chuckle beside her, and the group behind them took notice of this, some exchanging knowing looks with each other.

* * *

"This is the nursery," Emily states to Rick as she holds Judith for a second before placing her in one of the cribs. The other baby in here is Emmie. She's my daughter," she sates picking up a now awake Emmie. Rick looks down at the girl.

"Is she yours?" he asks. She sighs.

"Biologically, no. The mother was a friend of mine and before she died she told me to look after her as my own. It's been a year now, so she's mine. Just turned one. But I'm sure Judith will be ok in here. I'm sure it'll be nice to actually have a real crib to sleep in." Rick nods.

"I can never thank you enough for allowing us to stay here," he replies. "Groups been through a lot in the past couple of years." Emily waves her hand dismissively.

"There's no problem here. It's just us offering a place for you to stay. As long as you do your fair share of work, everything will be fine." He nods.

"We'll make sure to do just that," he replies. She nods and goes to step out of the room.

"You know where your room is right?" she asks. Rick nods. "Good. I have to go take care of something. If you need anything, I'm gonna be down stairs." She walks out the door and Rick smiles, looking down at his daughter. He leans down and caresses her cheek.

"We'll be ok," he whispers. And for the first time in a while, he was actually sincere about what he said.

* * *

Emily watches as Ava and Nat play with Cooper and Oreo, their two dogs that they had. They would run around their legs and then take off, leading the other two girls to chase. A few times they had fallen down and started to laugh at their clumsiness, and then get right back up, continuing to chase the dogs around.

She looks back up for a moment and then sees Daryl watching her, causing her to smile. Realizing he's been caught, he looks down quickly, avoiding her gaze. She chuckles at him and waves her hand over. "Come over!" she yells over the gleeful kids.

Hesitantly, he walks over, his hands in his pockets. Her smile was still on her face when he sits down next to her. She looks over to the kids and sighs. "I haven't seen them play like this in a while. I don't think I even introduced you to them. She's Nat, and the littler one is Ava, my other daughter." He looks at the smaller girl and notices that she does indeed look like Emily, even though she was her sister's daughter.

"She looks like ya," he states. She chuckles, looking down.

"Well, me and my sister always did look alike." He looks to her and notices the smile on her face was gone, for the first time since he had met her. He frowns at this.

"What's wrong?" he asks softly. She looks up, surprised he had had asks, then shakes her head, waving her hand again.

"Nothing, just thinking back to when she passed away." She looks at the little girl and sighs. "She just reminds me of her. The way she laughs, walks, even the way she eats, just reminds me of Lilly. I know I shouldn't dwell in the past, but it just hurts a little." He looks down, a not uncomfortable with the situation. He had never been good with comforting girls. Hell, he rarely ever did. But with Emily, he felt like he was obligated to.

"It hurts," he says to her. She looks up to him and meets his gaze, and he finally sees something other then happiness in her eyes. Pain.

"Did you-"

"I had a brother," he interrupts. She nods, looking back to the kids who were now laughing.

"Did he…"

"Yeah, it was for a stupid reason, but yeah, he's gone." She nods in understanding.

"Does it hurt?" He's silent for a minute before nodding.

"Yeah, every once and a while. But I moved on. It's in the past, and I'm still surviving. And I'm sure yer sister is lookin' down on ya and smiling, knowing yer takin' care of Ava." She smiles at that, and he lets out a small grin. "There's that smile," he says, then realizes that he just said that. But she didn't seem to mind. She smiles even larger and looks up at him.

"Thanks Daryl," she states, then leans up at pecks his check, causing it to turn a dark red. He snaps his head down to meet her gaze again. "I'm glad you came back," she says, leaning back and letting her smile brighten a bit more.

'I'm glad too,' he thinks.

* * *

**A/N: Finally got this finished. This took me forever to write. But yeah, they're here now. I'm not gonna rush the relationship in that quickly. Like next chapter they're not having sex or anything like that. But I will say that there's that instant attraction thing going on. Thanks for reading! And Review please! Hope you enjoyed!**


	6. He LiKes You

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews and the new followers! It made my snow day! So in this chapter I'm just kind of going to play it out. Stuff's been popping up into my mind, so while writing this I'm gonna take it slow because I want to make sure I execute the story properly because I tend to just make shit when I write quickly XD**

**On with the story!**

* * *

Emily cleans up one of the plates from the night before in her hands the next morning, placing it in the dish rack and moving on. She looks outside and smiles. It was a nice and bright day, perfect for going to the beach. Sadly, all she had was the lake. But it was one of the best places she had ever went to. I mean, one of her best friends lived in it.

She decides quickly and goes to her room, throwing on one of her bathing suits under a pair shorts and a tank top. She then places her sweater on her shoulders and her sneakers on her feet. Then, saying a quick goodbye to Ava, who had still been slightly asleep when she said it, she grabbed a towel and took off into the woods.

As she started to walk, her mind thought back to the group that had just came into her house. Everyone seemed nice enough and polite, and none seemed to be mad that their life had nearly been on the line the day before. Rick was already starting to warm up to her. She still wanted to ask exactly where the mom was of the two children, but she knew that would be an uncomfortable subject with him, and she didn't want to make things any more awkward. Then her mind races back to Daryl.

Daryl.

Just thinking about him sent butterflies through her stomach. She never thought she would ever feel something for someone in this apocalypse other then friendship, but then he came along. She could tell from a mile away that he wasn't really the relationship type. Probably hadn't had a few meaningful ones. But maybe she could try a little. He was just so nice and sweet. And his looks just added onto the pile.

She shakes her head. She needed to get down the lake to see Sotski.

But then she hears a voice behind her.

"Where ya going?" She spins around, her knife in her hand, but then realizes it was only Daryl, standing there, staring at her. She takes a huge breath of relief and glares at him.

"Jesus, don't do that!" she yells, causing him to snicker. She looks back at him. "Did you follow me?" she asks. Realizing how weird he must be acting, he looks down, embarrassed. She sees this and chuckles. "I don't mind at all. I was heading down to the lake. Wanna come?"

"For what?" he asks. She shrugs, lifting up her shirt to show the top part of her bikini, and seeing his eyes linger on her body made her smile.

"Head for swim, see an old friend," she says, placing her shirt back down. His eyes snap back up to hers and he nods.

"I'm not gonna swim though," he says, walking up to her. She laughs.

"Why?" she asks. He shrugs.

"Never been the swimming type, I guess." She smiles.

"Then I'll just have to push you in," she states, walking closer to him. Ignoring the signs his mind was sending him, telling her to walk further away, he simply ignores them for a moment and chuckles.

"Ya do that and I'll take ya in with me," he replies. She scoffs.

"I'm not the one wearing regular clothes. At least I have on a bathing suit. You probably just have on boxers. Then again, what do I know? You seem to be surprising me these past couple of days." He raises an eyebrow.

"Surprising ya?" She chuckles.

"Yeah, like the fact that you didn't try to do anything to me when we first met, ro the fact that you came back to the house. I mean, I had a feeling you would, but there was also this part of me that thought you wouldn't, and I guess my head was believing that. And when I saw you there, I guess it just surprised me," she concludes, placing her hands in her shorts pockets. "Sorry, that sounded kind of weird," she laughs. He shakes his head.

"Nah, it's fine," he replies, staring at her for a moment before looking in front of him. The two see the lake start to come into view. "How are we here already?" She chuckles.

"Yesterday, I took the long way back to the house. This time I took the short way." He rolls his eyes.

"Ya couldn't take the short way yesterday? My feet were killin' me," he mumbles. She chuckles at that. "And who's this friend of yours?" he asks, even though he had already known for a while.

"Um, it's kind of complicated," she replies, scratching the back of her head, embarrassed. "It's, um…It's a whale." He feigns interest and raises an eyebrow.

"A whale?" he asks. She chuckles, looking at the ground.

"Yeah…I've known him since I was five…since I was homeschooled my whole life, I came down to the lake every day and he was always there…so I started to actually become friends with him. His names Sotski," she replies.

"Sotski," he repeats, looking at her with an incredulous expression. "And ya became friends with a whale?" he questions, chuckling slightly. She sighs and places her head in her hands, chuckling to herself.

"I know it sounds weird but trust me! It's just-oh, you'll see." She runs to were the lake was now in view and runs down to the end of the dock, him right behind her. "Sotski!" she calls out, hoping for a reply. And she gets one, with a splash of a tail and the sound of the water rushing. Then his head pops up out of the water. She laughs and leans down, rubbing his head. "Hey, buddy," she laughs.

"So this is Sotski?" Daryl asks, leaning down next to her, a bit away from the whale. She looks up and nods.

"Yup. Been with me since I was a kid. A nice orca whale. I've ridden him many times." Daryl looks at the girl and sees the smile on her face, knowing the mammal was the reason that it was there. But he stills asks.

"Isn't that what killed that trainer and SeaWorld?" Emily looks up and glares at him.

"He was allowed to," she snarls, looking back down at the mammal. "They kept him locked up in a box for twenty five years of his life. Don't you think you would go crazy and have to give rid of all the frustration after all that time? He just took it out on her. And now everyone's blaming him." He furrows his brow.

"But didn't the whale still kill the trainer?" She looks up.

"Exactly!" she says, coming over to him slightly and leading him over to the whale. "Pet him. He's not gonna hurt you." Daryl looks at her flabbergasted. "Just touch him," she sighs exasperated. He hesitantly places his hand on the oracas wet skin and was astounded it didn't do anything to the stranger. It actually let him pet him. "See?"

"Then-"

"Because they aren't supposed to be locked up!" she interrupts. "Whales are supposed to be free and wander the earth. Just like people can. The only reason he comes back is because he's known me since I was a kid." She looks back to the whale and sighs. "These mammals have emotions. Human emotions. They're able to build relationships and feel what we feel. They're able to care, to love. When I look into Sotski's eyes, I can see the soul behind them. They're so much like us and so many people don't know." Daryl looks at her and smiles.

"Ya really like them, huh?" he asks. She chuckles.

"Yeah, I do. My job before all this was being a trainer at SeaWorld. I hadn't seen Stoski at all for such a long time." He raises another eyebrow.

"Ya say it's wrong to have them there but yet ya were a trainer?" She sighs.

"Because I still wanted to work with them. The water is my life. I love it. When I swim, it just takes me to another world and I feel at peace with myself. It's one of the only places I feel safe, ironically. Then there's animals." She chuckles. "I feel such a connection with them. I could probably go up to a wile tiger and it wouldn't attack me at all. I have that aura about me, I guess. That's one of the reasons I guess I have such a deep connection with Stoski. I just love being around them. Which is bad because most of animals are food today." She smiles at him. "You ever have a connection with something?" He snorts.

"Not as spiritual as ya," he replies. She chuckles, looking out towards the ocean. Suddenly, Sotski flaps his tail, sending water flying over them and landing on their shirts, more on Daryl. Emily starts to laugh, while Daryl glares angrily at his wet clothes. "What the hell?" he asks.

"That means he likes you. He rarely does that to anyone. Maybe he sees the good in you," she chuckles, lending him the towel she had, which he took gratefully.

"Tell him if he could do it in a less wetter way next time," he says, wiping the water out of his eyes. She laughs, nodding.

"I'll be sure to!"

* * *

**A/N: So happy I finished this. So what do you think? Like it, hate it? Thanks for reviewing and reading! And as always, REVIEW! They always help motivate me to write the story! Love you all and hope you enojoyed!**


	7. Chat with Jason

**A/N: Vacation time! So these chapters will come later in the day because I want to work on my other story now, which I just updated. So I'm happy that I will have more time to work on my stories and think of stuff to write and make these stories the best that I can be. And thanks for the new follows and reviews. They mean a lot. :) **

**On with the story!**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Carol would watch her with him. She would watch how she talked, how she moved, how she said things. And all the time she would have a stupid smile on her face that just made Carol want to rip it right off. It made her want to kill her. She never seemed to be sad. She never seemed to be angry. All she was…was happy. Nothing else crossed her features. And she noticed Daryl seemed to like her.

For the past week that they had been there, she saw them talk all the time. She saw them go down to the lake together, even share a few smiles together. Something her and Daryl used to do. Laugh together. She even saw Daryl once with Ava outside, talking and playing catch with her. If you didn't know who these people were, some would suspect that the two were together. But no, they weren't, and Carol wanted to keep it that way. She had been so close to getting intimate with Daryl, and then she went off and killed the two group members.

It had been for his protection and for the group, and yet everyone seemed to hate her for it. She was only thinking of them. And now it seemed like a federal crime. The world went to shit. It wasn't like she did it for herself, it was for the group.

Right now she was in the kitchen watching the two through the window in the back, near the small stream that ran through the house. It was a nice place to stay, plenty of rooms and had plenty of space to just relax, but her blood boiled at the pair. She couldn't hear what they were talking about, but she knew it was something funny. Because every once and a while she would see them laugh slightly. And every single time she wanted to run up behind her and stab her in the back.

"Watching Dixon, huh?" she hears behind her. Carol spins around and comes face to face with one of the woman from Emily's group. She looked to be about a year younger then Emily, and had curly dark blonde hair that was done up in a ponytail, light blue eyes. She had on a light green shirt, blue jeans, converse, and a plaid cover up. Carol blushes at thee girl's question. "Well that answers it," she chuckles. "Elizabeth," she says, sticking out her hand. Carol eyes it warily before shaking it.

"Carol," she says, looking back outside. Elizabeth takes one of the dish clothes and wipes the blood from her hands. Carol sees this. "What's that?" she asks. Elizabeth looks up and shrugs.

"Walker blood. Been taking them out for like the last hour. Need a nice long shower." She looks outside to Emily an Daryl and chuckles. "Oh, Emily, messing around with the guys," she laughs. Carol raises an eyebrow at her.

"What do you mean messing around?" she asks. Elizabeth chuckles.

"Nothing bad, she just loves to be around guys. She gets along with them a lot better then she does with girls because she says it's 'less drama' then being friends with girls. I understand that, but she hangs around them so much. I'm like, one of the only girl friends she has besides her sister." Carol raises an eyebrow.

"I'm guessing she wasn't that popular in high school?" Elizabeth shakes her head.

"No, nothing like that. She never even went to school until college," she states. Carol looks surprised at her.

"She didn't?" Elizabeth shakes her head.

"Homeschooled her whole life. The only reason why she knew me was because I lived about ten minutes away from her and met her at a park when we were younger. I may be a year younger, but we're the closest we've got to best friends. And the fact that we're still kicking in this world prove s that we are truly supposed to live our lives the same. It's so weird how life works like that."

"Why didn't she go to school?" Carol asks.

"Bipolar," she states. Carol's eyebrows rise.

"Really?" she asks surprised. Elizabeth nods. "But I've seen people who are bipolar go to school." The younger girl snorts.

"Not Emily. She had this major freak out in kindergarten and hurt three kids severely because of it. Ever since that, her mother took her out of school and homeschooled her. Then she traveled down south to go to college because by then she had been able to control it. The only time she had a freak out like the one in kindergarten was when she saw her mother get eaten. I think what sets her off is loved ones passing and some specific key words."

"Like what?' Carol presses on.

"I think 'freak,' maybe 'whore' and 'slut' but really only those words. Nothing too bad, though. She's been through a lot in her past year, but she still always finds some way to keep that smile on her face. Ah, I wish I was able to do that," she coons. She picks up a towel and huffs. "Well, I gotta take care of Jason. He got a huge cut while outside. Dumbass doesn't know how to use a knife right. See ya later," she states, walking out the kitchen door and to the next room.

Carol stares after Elizabeth for a second before staring back out the window at the two people still talking. She smirks to herself. She would break this girl.

* * *

"Daryl right?" he hears behind him. Daryl turns his head and sees the man that had pointed a shotgun at him nearly a week ago.

"Yeah," he grunts, turning back to what he was doing. Emily had left him with a specifis job and he wasn't gonna stop doing it because this asshole was right behind him. He hears Jason shuffle on his feet before finally speaking to him.

"Look, I'm sorry for pointing a gun at you before. I was just trying to protect the group and my girl. There my family, you know? I've known Emily and Dani since college. There the only part of my old life left, so…yeah," he finishes rather dumbly Daryl couldn't help but chuckle at the man's nervousness.

"I get it, kid," he says. "But what did ya need? Kinda busy," he replies.

"Well, I heard you and Emily talking earlier and heard that you hunt. I was wondering if you got the time we could head out and get something. Meats starting to run a bit low in the cellar." Daryl looks up and thinks for a moment. He hadn't gotten anything good in a while. Hell. He hadn't really gone out on a real hunting trip since they got here. He nods.

"Let's head out now." Jason's eye widen.

"Really? But…Ok, I'll get my stuff!" he says excitedly, running off into the house. Daryl raises an eyebrow and shakes his head.

"I might regret this," he mumbles to himself, going off to get his crossbow.

* * *

The two silently walked through the forest as they waited for something to come out of the woods so they could kill. Jason would look at Daryl every once and a while, as if to say something, but would look away a minute later before saying it. But once, he shook his head and stood his ground.

"So…I see you've been talking to Emily a lot lately," he starts, fiddling with the gun in his hand. Daryl looks at him from the corner of his eye and shrugs.

"Yeah, what of it?" he replies, a bit snappy. Jason steps back for a minute but regains his composure and continues to talk.

"Do you like her?" Daryl looks at him surprised.

"Jesus, Jason," he mumbles, looking back ahead of him. Jason shrugs and walks a bit faster to catch up with Daryl.

"I'm just saying what I've been noticing," he states. "But I will say if you break your heart I'll break your leg." Daryl raises an eyebrow.

"I don't-" Before Daryl could reply, Jason looks at him with an exasperated look, causing Daryl to sigh angrily and look ahead. "Ok, say yer right. I do 'like' her like that," he mocks, placing quotes over the word 'like.' "Why would ya break my leg?"

"Because her heart has taken so much beating against it if she experiences anything else like what she's been through again, she's gonna get herself killed." Daryl stops walking and looks at Jack.

"What kind of experiences?" he asks. Jason's eyes become dark.

"Every single guy she's ever been with has been either a total douchebag or someone who has cheated on her. And every single time she's had her heart broken. She is one of the sweetest girls I've ever known, and she doesn't deserves all the pain that she had gotten in her life. And if you're a reason that she goes back into her depression, I will make sure to make your death slow and painful," he growls menacingly at the older man.

Daryl's brow furrowed. He could rarely ever see Emily without a smile on her face. It was almost impossible to picture her in any kind of state of depression.

"What kind of things?" he asks. Jason knew he was asking about the guys. The youngest shakes his head, holding his gun a bit more tightly.

"Just…terrible things. She doesn't deserve any of it. Her eyes are always so full of life and always so happy. And when they were there, all I saw was blankness and sadness and just…dull. I love her like she's my sister, and I don't want anything like that to happen to her again right after she got out of it." Daryl's blood boils at thinking what those men could have done to Emily.

"I-"

"Look, don't try to ignore the fact that you like her," Jason interrupts. "It's plain as day, at least to me. Just don't-"

"I like her, ok?" he says to Jason, effectively shutting him up. Daryl feels his face heat up but continues to talk. "But I don't think she would ever go for a guy like me, so just calm down and continue to scout out the place. She's too innocent." Jason snorts.

"She's anything but innocent, man. And trust me, I can tell she has a small thing for you too." He looks closer at Daryl. "I can tell you're not like them. But if you do try anything, promise me you won't hurt her. Or else." Daryl looks at the younger man and for once realizes that he means business. Even if he knew he would never want to hurt Emily, he knew if he did this man would kill him. No doubts. And even though he was doubting anything would happen between the two, he chuckles and nods.

"I wouldn't hurt her, man. Not for anything. So can we stop the pissin' match and can we get on to hunting?" Jason smirks and nods.

"Thanks, Dixon," he replies, following the older man.

* * *

**A/N: He admits he likes her! Yea! And Carol is out for Emily! If you haven't already guessed, I really don't like Carol XD Never have, even before I had a thing for Daryl. But I'm excited for tomorrows episode to finally see Daryl and Beth. I just want to see them get a bond. Romantically, next season probably. But I'm just happy to see them surviving together :) Thanks for reading and REVIEW! They always help! Hope you enjoyed!**


	8. Admitting

**A/N: Thaanks for reviewing guys! It means so much! Right now I'm watching the playthrough for the new last of us download and can I just say I am loving it so much! It is so awesome. And Ellie is a mini badass. Not to mention she's only two year younger than me, so she could have been like my little sister. I kind of look like her except I have dark brown hair and brown eyes. I just love her personality. She's just awesome. Planning on playing it as soon as I finish the actual last of us game. XD**

**So this chapter I'm gonna take a bit slow because I want to make it at least wound well. Some times I really suck at writing stuff, but I'm gonna try. But thanks for the nice reviews! They really motivated me to write the next chapter this early. Now…**

**On with the story!**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Emily walks through the house in the early morning, getting to the bathroom as quick as possible, and trying to be as quiet as possible, not making a sound on the ground. She needed to be quiet so now one would wake up. Heaven knows she didn't want that to happen. She would be embarrassed for life. Granted, it was for her health, but she still didn't want people to see what she was doing.

She finally makes it to the one bathroom and steps inside, closing the door behind her quietly, then turning to the sink. She walks towards it slowly and turns on the faucet, letting it run so the water could get cold. Taking her glass, she pours a quick cup of water and places it on the counter. Looking into the mirror, she sighs.

She had bags under her eyes for the first time in forever. She hated seeing those. And that's only because she had stopped taking her pill for a while. She thought she could have controlled them, but she still needed this stupid pill.

She takes a bottle out of the cabinet behind the mirror and pours two pills into her hands, the normal dosage. But thinking back to what she did last night, and glancing a bit down at her wrists, she puts four into her hands, knowing that in order to stop her mind from doing that again she would need to take that stuff.

She places it in the water and lets it dissolve. Waiting for it to fully submerge in the water, she sits down on the toilet and rolls up her sleeve, looking tiredly at the now messily stitched wrist from last night. One of her attacks had happened last night. She still remembered when she was first diagnosed. It had been a year after her attack in kindergarten.

_Emily sat gloomily on the cot in the doctors office, her knees up to her chest and her arms around them, holding them closer to her. Her mother was in one of the chairs, glancing between the door, waiting for the doctor to come back with results, and her daughter nervously. Finally deciding to speak up, she straightens herself out. _

"_Sweetie-"_

"_I don't see why I have to be here," Emily interrupts snappily, causing her mother to glare at her. _

"_You will not talk to me like that, young lady!" she yells, causing Emily to glare and look down. Her mother takes a deep breath and continues. "This is for your own good. The attacks you have are not normal, and we need to know what causes them. This could be something really serious, and I don't want my little girl to have to have a strange life because of this. I love you sweetie," she states. Emily rolls her eyes, still glaring at the ground. _

"_I don't care. I don't want to be here-" The doctor suddenly steps in and the girl falls quiet. The mother gets up from her chair and walks over._

"_Well? What is it?" The doctor looks at his papers and looks back at her mother with a gloomy expression._

"_She has bipolar disorder . But we have pills that can control her attacks. Give it to her when she needs them." Her mother nods shakily and takes them, while Emily just watches the two talk. _

"_What were the attacks that she had?" she asks. _

"_In kindergarten, she had a rare attack that was a combination of a manic attack and depressive attack, or episodes as they call them. It's very rare, so it probably won't happen again, but you can always be careful. Some words may set her off two, so make sure she always has these pills in her system so she won't do anything she might regret later on." _

"_What words?" her mother asks. The doctor shrugs._

"_Horrible ones such as dirty words, or simple ones like sad. You just have to find out what words do. We can't tell you that, at least not yet." Her mother nods. "These need to be dissolved in water, so just give them to her when you go home."_

Last night had been a depressive attack. She felt like she just wanted to die, to just leave this world, so her mind did the talking for her and slit her wrist. Realizing what she did, she stitched it up, rather painfully, and knew she had to take more pills in the morning. That was rare for her as well. She rarely ever realized something during one of her attacks. She always just let them go through her, but apparently not this time. She actually thought.

But then again, she hadn't had one like that in a while.

Once she sees that the pill is dissolved, she pulls down her sleeve, grabs the glass, and chugs the water down as quick as possible. When she's done, she places it on the counter and groans into her hands. Why was she cursed with this? Why couldn't she be normal girl and have a normal life?

Oh, that's right, she was anything BUT normal. Normal despised her and hid in a dark corner where she would never be able to find it. That's why she was still taking the pills today, even in the apocalypse.

She gets up from the toilet and leans her hands against the counter again. Looking back in the mirror, she splashes some water on her face and sighs. Time to face another day. She hears a knock on the door.

Turning to open it, she hides the pills in the cabinet quickly and turns the knob, expecting to see one of the newcomers, but it was only her sister. And when she saw that, she caught a quick sight of relief escape Emily. She raises an eyebrow. "You ok sis?" Dani asks.

"Yeah," she replies. "Just needed a few minutes. All yours," she says, walking out and back down the hall. Dani gazes curiously at her sister who was heading back to her room, before walking into the bathroom and closing the door behind her. 'I'll ask her later' she thinks before starting to get ready for the day ahead.

* * *

Emily hauls the net of fish from the lake later that day, pulling roughly at the knots and strings to pull it up to the pier. She was going to make some fish for Ava tonight, the one thing they ironically had not had in a while. It was her favorite meal.

She looks around and sighs. Daryl had come down with her, but he had seen a possible idea for dinner-as in a stag-and promised he would be back soon, and went off to hunt. Now it had been almost a half hour. Not that she mind. She had been used to quiet all her life, but she had been getting spoiled to him being around. She had gotten used to it.

Which was kind of wrong to do in a world like this. She could lose him at any second. But she just couldn't stay away. That sounded really cheesy.

And cliché.

But her life had always been full of surprises.

She takes out one of the fishes and looks at it. Looking at dead animals always made her sort of depressed, but she had to do this in order to keep her and her group-her family-alive.

Suddenly, she sees Sotski's head pop up through the water and she smiles. "Hey, Stoski," she says, patting him on the head. "Want a fish?" She throws it and he catches he fish in his mouth, giving a satisfied splash in the water. She chuckles. "Like that huh?"

The whale makes a happy call and she chuckles. She smiles at the mammal and sighs. "You know what I haven't done in a while? Wanna hear a song, boy? A song?" She feels the whale call softly through her palm and smiles. "Of course you do. Let's see…what can I think of?" she chuckles. Her mind races back to all the songs she has sang in her life. There were just so many. Her mind settles on one.

"_I took my love and I took it down…I climbed a mountain and I turned around…and I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills, when a landslide brought me down. Oh, mirror In the sky, what is love? Can the child within my heart, rise above? Can I sail through the changing ocean tides, can I handle the seasons, of my life? Oh, oh. Oh, oh. Well, I've been afraid of changing, cause I, built my life, around you. But time makes you bolder, children get older, and I'm getting older too. Well,_" she ends, rubbing the mammals head.

"Didn't know ya could sing like that," she hears behind her. She jumps up and spins around, nearly falling off the dock, but is saved when strong arms wrap around her waist, keeping her steady. She finally looks up and makes eye contact that had nearly gave her a heart attack, only to see it was just Daryl. She blushes under his gaze and looks down.

"Yeah," she mumbles. "I've been singing my whole life," she says, looking back up. "I guess it's a part of me. I used to sing stuff down here to Sotski." He smiles at her.

"Ya should sing more. Nice voice." If possible, she blushes even deeper and laughs nervously.

"Thanks," she squeaks, but then clears her throat. "I mean….thanks," she says a bit more confidently. He chuckles at her and steps back, finally letting go of her waist and walking over to the whale, much to her disappointment. "Did you get the stag?" she asks. He shakes his head.

"Nah, got spooked off my some other animal, couldn't hit it before it went out of sight. Was a big one too. Sucked not getting it." He kneels down on the dock and next to whale. "Hey Sotski," he mumbles, patting the whale on the head, to which the whale replies happily.

Whether he liked to admit it or not, the whale had somehow made some sort of impression on him. He had no clue why, but he had a feeling what Emily had said about a whale having a soul was true. Emily sits down next to him.

"How's the group been holding up?" she asks him.

"Pretty good. Feels nice to finally have a safe place other then out on the road." She nods and places her feet in the water.

"Have you ever gone swimming on a whale before?" He looks at her with raised eyebrows, causing her to chuckle. "I'll take that as a no." She takes off her shirt and Daryl's eyes widen.

"What are ya doing?" he asks nervously. She chuckles and just gets uo, taking off her shorts.

"I'm going in the water," she replies casually before taking a big jump and landing in a cannonball, causing a huge splash to wet Daryl. He yells in protest as the cold water lands on him, and then glares at Emily as she resurfaces on the water. "Care to join me?" she laughs. He rolls his eyes.

"No, thank ya," he mocks. "This water is freezing," he mumbles. She shrugs and goes under for a second before resurfacing at his feet, surprising him.

"You get used to it. Sotski!" She is automatically moved up in the air and is on the whales back. Daryl's eyes widen.

"Jesus," he mumbles. She laughs and stands up on his back, petting him as she did.

"Watch this!" she says excitedly to Daryl. She looks down at the whale. "Sotski, you know what to do." The whale automatically starts to take off, Emily holding on carefully. The suddenly, the whale goes under the water and Emily jumps into the air, then dives into the water with him. When she resurfaces, she pets Sotski and turns to Daryl.

"Show off!" He shouts at her, causing her burst out laughing.

"It's my job!" she shouts back. But he was chuckling all the same. Truth be told, he loved watching her do that. It was just another quality that he loved about her.

'Whoa, whoa, whoa. Love?' he asks himself. He wasn't 'in love' with her…was he? He looks at the water, trying to shake these thoughts from his head. There was no way. But when he looks back up and sees her swimming and interacting with Sotski, he smiles again, loving seeing the smile on her face.

He suddenly frowns at himself, than suddenly realizes the sad truth. He would do anything to keep that smile on her face, to make her happy, to keep her safe. He wanted to be the one to do that. To hold her in his arms, kiss her, laugh with her, make her feel loved. He puts his head in his hands and groans.

He was in love. And there was no way out of it.

* * *

**I never wrote a fluffy scene like that XD So he admits it. Now is someone gonna make a move or am I gonna have to do something, huh? Wait, I'm the author XD Thanks again for the reviews! Thanks for reading and as always REVIEW! Hope you enjoyed!**


	9. Freak

**A/N: I wake up to plenty of reviews and I was pleasantly surprised! Thank you so much! And tonight Walking Dead is back with a new episode with my two favs! Can't wait to see the two bond and finally talk a real conversation. XD I want them to be friends so badly XD Maybe I'm doing wishful thinking. And I don't know what to believe anymore when it comes to this show. All I'm hoping is that Daryl and Beth stay alive and make it to the next season. I'll think I'll die if they killed both of them of. Literally, I would stab myself if something like that happened before anything could happen. **

**Now….**

**On with the story!**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

"Emily, can you help me over here?" Dani asks her sister who was playing with Ava. Emily looks to her sister and sends Ava off to play with Nat. Getting up from the step she was sitting on, she walks over to her sister at the stable, who was currently trying to clean one of their horses, Crackers. She was fidgeting in her stall. Dani sighs angrily at the animal. "Crackers," she scolds.

"Guessing you need my help to calm her down?" Emily asks, chuckling a little. Dani nods, causing Emily to laugh and walk over to the tan horse. She grabs his head and places her forehead against hers. "It's ok, Crackers. Just gotta get you cleaned up a little." The horse stops her struggling, looking at Emily. "Eady, girl. Easy," she says calmly, and the horse all but stops moving, gazing at her. Dani rolls her eyes.

"Oh come on," she mumbles. Emily smiles, petting her horses soft fur on the tip of her nose, kissing the side of her head.

"That's my good girl. Now, can you stay still while we wash your fur? It's only gonna be a few minutes," she whispers. The horse neighs in reply, casuing Emily to laugh again. "Good," she says, backing up now and taking one of the sponges from Dani's hands. "Dani, how about you go and get some more cleaning supplies? Looks like we're gonna need a bit more soap for the crap on her," Emily states, looking at Cracker's mane and chuckling to herself.

"That's a good idea," she chuckles. "I'll be back in a few, Make sure Cracker doesn't run off," she states, walking out of the stable. Emily laughs.

"Don't worry, she'll stay here as long as I'm here." She turns to the horse. "Won't you, Crackers?" she coons, petting her nozzle. Crackers neighs at her, Emily's smile still in place. She takes a bucket of water and pours it on the horses head, and it lets out a neigh of protest, causing Emily to chuckle. "It'll be fine, girl," she says.

Reaching down, she grabs one of the sponges and tries to get out the dirt from the horses mane as much as she could. They really needed more soap to help them. Thank God Dani was going to get some to help her with this.

When she gets back up from her crouched position, her heart practically burst out of her chest when she sees a woman staring at her. She jumps back at least a foot, scaring herself and the horse. When her breathing returns to normal, she places a hand on her heart and her other on the horse to calm her down. When she turns to face the woman, she smiles at her. "Scared me there," she chuckles. "Carol, right?" she asks. The woman nods slowly.

"Yes," she replies, looking at the stable. "You have horses?" she asks. Emily nods, petting Crackers fur to slow her heart rate.

"Have had them since I was ten. This one has been around since I was seventeen. Big part of my life. Crackers. The other one is Dots. She's a bit older, but still had a child's heart." She looks at Carol. "How have you been holding up?" she asks. Carol is silent for a second before replying.

"Well," she says. "It's nice having a house to live in. Been through a lot with this group. A lot," she says, emphasizing the words 'a lot.' Emily nods slowly, not really sure where she was going with this.

"We've all been through those sorts of situations. I lost my friend a year ago. My sister before all this. Been through a lot." Carol's brow furrows, as if to ask what sister. "I had a younger sister. Ava was hers but she told me to looks after her as if she was my own. Same with Emma. But I love them like they really are my own."

"You know what you're doing with them?" Carol asks skeptically, trying to get her mad. But no, her smile was still on her face.

"Yes, I know what I'm doing," she chuckles. "I've been doing it for a three years. I know what I'm doing." She finally turns to Carol fully, dropping the sponge in her hands into the bucket. "Was there anything else you wanted to talk about? Because I kind of have to clean Crackers." Carol's silent for second again, before replying with a menacing voice.

"What's going on between you and Daryl?" she asks-no, hisses-at Emily. Her smile faulters for a moment, her brow furrowing, but then she chuckles, shaking her head.

"Nothing's going on between me and Daryl. We're just friends," she chuckles. "And I don't think anything else besides that is going to happen," she states s sadly, but making sure it sounded confident in front of the slightly intimidating older woman. But Carol still had that glare in her face.

"Let me make one thing clear, Taylor," she starts, stepping towards Emily, causing her to take a step back. "You have no idea what this group has been through-what Daryl has been through. That man is a great man, and he has done nothing but protect this group and keep us alive. We are a family, and the only reason why we took up this offer of yours is to have a bed to sleep in." By now, Emily was backed against the wall of the stable. "But let me make one thing clear. You and Daryl are friends, and if you even think about the possibility of anything other than that happening between you two…you have to deal with me." Emily nods, but was still trying not to let her mood go down.

"Like I said, we're just friends. If he's yours, I'm sorry if I made it look like I was laying a move on him," Emily states, putting her hands up in a harmless motion. Carol backs up, letting Emily have her air and inside, breath an inwardly sigh of relief at the woman finally being away from her. Carol looks at her with a smug look on her face.

"Good…I don't know why I even bothered to threaten you. You're such an order taker," she says, beginning to walk out of the stable, leaving Emily to watch her leave with a confused look on her face. Before she completely left the stable, she turns around and smiles evilly at her. "Then again, I don't think he would be into an animal _freak,_" she states.

Emily's smile drops, and it seems like Carol picked it up, because it was written all over her face now. She finally steps out of the stable, leaving Emily in the barn by herself. Emily leans against the stable wall and sinks down to the floor.

_Freak. Freak. Freak._

* * *

Daryl was out near the back where the group had made up some sort of garden, like the one they had had back at the prison before it was taken. He was looking at all the plants they had been growing and had to admit this group was something that was practically meant to survive the apocalypse. They all seemed prepared to make it through.

"Daryl, you there?" he hears behind him. Daryl turns around and sees Rick heading his way, trying to fight his way through the dogs that were at this feet. "Cooper, Oreo, come on, let me through," he states, fighting his way through the animals. When he gets to Daryl, he chuckles. "These dogs are gonna kill me one day," he mumbles.

"Hey, man," Daryl says, turning back to the garden. "Brings back memories, right?" he says. Rick nods, a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, it does." He looks at Daryl. "I want to ask ya a question, Daryl," he says, turning to him. Daryl looks at him from the corner of his eyes.

"What?" he asks.

"I've seen you and Emily together a lot during the time we've been here. Do you happen to like her?" he asks, a bit teasing. Hiding the obvious, Daryl rolls his eyes and looks at him for s quick second.

"No, we're just friends," he states, turning back to the garden. Rick raises an eyebrow and shakes his head. He thinks for a minute.

"Ok, so I guess you wouldn't mind if I tried to get to know her-" Daryl turns to him sharply and glares at Rick.

"Ya lay one finger on her and I swear to God-" Daryl suddenly realized what he was saying and backs up, still glaring at Rick, who had an amused look on his face. "Fuck you, asshole," he mumbles. Rick chuckles and pats Daryls back.

"It's ok to admit it, man. Nice to see you finally found someone in this world." Daryl looks up through narrowed eyes, shaking his head. Suddenly, the door burst open behind them and both men look to the porch to see a frantic looking Dani and a worried looking Elizabeth, along with Jason and Dan behind them. All seemed to be off the charts.

"Emily!" Dani screams. The men look at each other and Daryl gets up, walking over to the group panicking.

"What's wrong?" he asks. "Where's Emily?" Dani looks up and runs to him.

"Gone," she pants.

"Gone?" he asks nervously. She nods and Elizabeth continues.

"Gone! We can't find her anywhere! And wherever she went, she took Crackers with her. Last time she went off, she…" she trails off and looks at Dani, who shakes her head worriedly.

"No…she's been doing so well, she can't be going off the edge now!" Dani yells, shaking her head.

"What happened last time she left?" Daryl asks, now in full out panic mode. The two girls were breathing fast, so Jason steps up and turns to Daryl.

"She tried to kill herself." Daryl takes a step back.

"No," he mumbles, shaking his head. "No," he repeats. "She…she can't…" He looks up. "I'll find her. Just give me a horse and I'll find her," he replies. Dani looks at him for a moment and nods.

"The stable, in the back. You better find her, Daryl," she says, putting her head in her hands. Daryl nods and takes off.

* * *

Daryl didn't know how long he had been riding Dots. But he knew he wasn't giving up. He needed to find Emily. He needed to find her alive and well and to just be playing some sort of joke. He needed her…period.

He rides even further away from the house, and finally starts to see signs of Cracker's, some horse tracks on the ground and a few patches of fur. He's making process. Dots suddenly stops and neighs to the right, and Daryl looks over. There was Crackers, tied to a rope.

He jumps off Dots and runs to Crackers, who was neighing at something in the distance. "Crackers, what's wrong? Where's Emily?" he says panikly. Se just keeps trying to go forward to the north, trying to break free of the rope. Daryl takes out his knife and slices it. And this niggar takes off. She goes flying in direction she was trying to get to, and then stops, nuzzling her nose in the dirt at an object. Daryl runs to her and stops where he was, looking down. Seeing what it was, he drops to his knees. Emily was on the ground, passed out, and blood was leaking from her arms.

"No, Emily!" he cries frustrated, taking her in his arms. She wasn't dead. She couldn't be dead. "Please, Emily, please don't die on me. I can't have ya die." He lifts up the sleeve on her arm and his brow furrows. In her arm, the word _freak _was carved into her arm, steadily bleeding. 'Someone told her something.'

"God, Emily," he whispers, taking her up in his arms bridal style. She lets out a slight moan and he breathes a sigh of relief. "Emily, baby, I need ya to hold on, alright? Just a little longer, ok? Please stay alive…we'll be back in no time. Crackers, follow us back." He gets on Dots, Emily still in his arms. He looks down at her and feels tears prickle at his eyes, but he shakes his head. 'She. Will. Live,' he thinks angrily.

Leaning down and kissing her forehead quickly, he kicks Dots in the stomach. "Let's go, Dots!" he yells, and the horse takes off. He was not going to let Emily die.

* * *

**A/N: Oh drama XD I was writing this while watching the last of the Last of Us gameplay. So that's tha for today, but if I get enough reviews I might put up another chapter after the walking dead tonight. I have ideas running through my mind. Thanks for reading and as always…REVIEW! Hope you enjoyed!**


	10. Tears

**A/N: Ok, I knew Carol would come back sooner or later on the show. And I was hating the moment that she would. But right now, I am thankful she came back and stopped psychopathic Lizzie from killing Judith, like GOD LIZZIE I WAS CHEERING FOR YOU AND NOW YOU DO THIS WHY DO YOU DO WHAT YOU DID? But God Daryl and Beth, he's just Mr. Optimistic huh? So awkward when it comes to comforting girls. He just, oh my God, I'm laughing right now at what he did. XD I just can't, this asshole XD But anyway, XD we move on with the story! And this will probably pick up where we left off in the last chapter…**

**On with the story!**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Dani paces back and forth on the porch outside, with Elizabeth trying to calm her down. "Dani, Daryl's out looking for her. She'll be-"

"Elizabeth, just stop!" she yells. "Last time we barely got to her in time to save her! What makes you think we're gonna have the same luck this time!" She digs her hands through her hair and collapses on the bench, her head in her hands. "I just don't know what to do anymore," she mumbles. Dan sits next to her and rubs her back.

"It'll be ok, babe." He looks at Elizabeth and Jason for help, but both just shrug their shoulders and look out to where they now hear galloping. The whole group hears it now, and all heads turn to see Crackers coming out of the woods first, causing Dani to stand, and then Daryl coming out on Dots, with a wounded Emily in his arms.

"Jesus!" Dani screams, coming down to meet him. When Daryl stops the horse, he gets off with Emily still in his arms. Dani runs over. "Where-"

"Passed out. She needs help. Now," he says. She looks to where the blood was coming from and lifts up the sleeve. Then, seeing what was carved on the inside of her arm, her eyes narrow and she feels anger start to bubble up inside her, but replaces it with worrying for the time being. She needed to stitch her up and make sure nothing else happens.

"Elizabeth! We're gonna need some blood!" she says. "Daryl, bring her inside and rest her on her bed. You know where her room is." He nods and goes as quickly as he could up the steps. Elizabeth gets a look at the now gash and gasps, her hands going over her mouth.

"Oh my God," she cries, following him inside. "Did she do that?" she yells at Dani.

"What do you think?" she yells back, obviously ticked off. She goes into her room and finds Daryl laying her on the bed. She goes up to her body and takes her arm. "My God," she whispers.

"Why would she do this?" Daryl chokes. Dani looks up and they make eye contact. She sees pain in the hunters eyes for the first time since she met him. "What the hell made Emily want to kill herself?" Dani sighs and starts to clean her needle and thread the string.

"Emily's bipolar. You didn't know that?" she asks. Daryl shakes his head. Dani sighs. "Well she is. She's been taking pills for a long time, and had finally learned to control the episodes that would happen every once and a while. But certain words just don't matter. They get through the pills, through the medication, and through her brain and just make her lose it." She starts to stitch slowly on the each of the letters, a stray tear escaping her eyes. "One of the words was freak."

"So, someone said it to her and she just…lost it?" he asks, leaning against the wall. Dani nods sadly.

"Yeah….and now it may have cost her…well, her life." Daryl straightens up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, who said anything about her losin' her life? You're fixin' her up and she'll be ok, right?" Dani looks up with a sad smile on her face.

"Daryl, who knows how long she was out there. She's lost a lot of blood. Elizabeth can give some, but you never know. She could be just hanging on right now to life. You might have gotten her just in time, or you were too late."

Daryl was silent, just glaring at the ground. She couldn't die. She can't die. He needed her to stay alive. This wasn't just some high school crush. This was real, and if she died, he wouldn't be able to live with himself knowing that he could have saved her from doing that.

The two were silent, while Daryl watched her sister work. There was no doubt in his mind that her sister had been some sort of doctor before all of this, or something. And no doubt that there would be a scar where the word 'freak' was. But he just wanted to see that Emily was getting something done to prevent anything else from happening to her.

Sooner or later, Elizabeth came in and started to give a few pints of blood, then leaves, can't standing to be in the same room with that scar. But Dani sighs and shakes her head, holding her sisters hand for a second. "Time to just wait."

"Wait?" Daryl interrupts, finally speaking from the past hour of silence. "What do ya mean wait?" Dani looks up at him with an idiotic expression on her face.

"We can't just snap out fingers and she wakes up, Daryl. We don't know if she will wake up or not-"

"She will," he says determinably. Dani is silent, now looking back down at Emily, who was as pale as new fallen snow. She sighs. 'I hope he's right,' she thinks.

"I'm gonna go and tell the others. You-" She stops and really looks at Daryl for a second. He was looking at her sister with the most worried expression she had ever seen on anyone before. He cared about her so much. She could tell from the way he talked, the way he looked at her. She rethinks her statement. "I'll tell the others to leave you alone for a while." And with that, she steps out of the door and closes it behind her.

* * *

"Who in the actual fuck told her she was a freak?" Jason hisses at Dani and Elizabeth. Dani glares at him, waving her arms up in the air.

"I don't fucking know! All I know is that she might be dead right now and-" She suddenly drops to the ground and Elizabeth comes to her side, taking her face in hers.

"Dani? Danielle, come on girl, speak with us!" she yells, causing Dani's eyes to water anf for tears to starts pouring down her cheeks. She pulls her knees to her chest and she sobs her heart out, for her sister and everything.

"She might be dead," she sobs. "My sister might be gone," she continues. "And there's nothing I can do!" she yells/sobs, her body racking. Elizabeth held her close to her.

"The only thing we can do right now is figure out who did this. And when we do, we'll knock 'em into the lake and watch them get eaten by Sotski. They'll pay for this," she growls. Jason comes to her side and nods reassuringly.

"They definitely will." He shakes his head. "God, I can only imagine what Daryl is feeling right now." Both girls look up confused.

"What do you mean?" they ask. Jason chuckles.

"Days ago, me and Daryl went hunting and he admitted that he liked Emily. May even love her. Right now…being the one who found her, I can't even render the emotions he must be feeling." Dani nods, looking down.

"I had a feeling he liked her too," she mumbles. Elizabeth snorts.

"Well, I must be fucking clueless then because I didn't know shit!" All three of them share a sad laugh. "I think the only person I got the weird 'I love Daryl' vibe off of was Carol." Jason and Dani look at her.

"You think she loves him?" Jason asks. Elizabeth nods.

"Yup." Suddenly, everything clicks. "Oh shit!" she screams, popping up from her spot on the floor and kicking the side of the wall hard, ending up with a hole. Jason gets up.

"Whoa, calm down. What's wrong?" Elizabeth groans.

"Before I knew Carol liked Daryl I told her about Emily being bipolar. I must have mentioned the words. God, I didn't think it would do anything! I didn't-This is my fault! I told Carol and now look at the mess we're in!" she cries. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" she yells, banging her head against the wall. Jason pulls her back.

"This isn't your fault, Lizzie," he states, using his nickname for her. "You had no clue what was gonna happen. You were just being nice." Dani stands up.

"I agree. It's fine. But do you think it was her?" Elizabeth nods.

"I only told her. I thought she was nice. I thought-God almighty," she ends, placing her head in her hands. Dani looks outside in the front and a thought suddenly passes through her. She turns to the other two and a frown is in full effect across her face.

"We have to tell Ava."

* * *

Daryl now found himself in one of the chairs next to bed, staring at the pale face of Emily, his heart slowly sinking with every little look he gave her. Her face was pale and she just seemed so…broken. The smile wasn't on her face, and nothing about what she looked like at the moment made him think that this was Emily. It just looked like a shell of her.

Now he knew what Rick was feeling when Carl was shot. The constant worrying that he was feeling. It was full on in him at the moment. Everything he felt inside of him was worry. Nothing else.

Suddenly, the door burst open and a little girl runs into the room. Her eyes land on the bed and she cries, "Mama!" Running onto the bed, she looks at her and a few tears slip down her face. "Is she dead?" she asks Daryl, looking at him.

Daryl felt the urge to say 'Not yet,' but he held his tongue, knowing that making a little girl sad was not something he wanted to do today. So he just settled with a shake of the head. She nods. "Good," she says, leaning back on the bed. She takes on of her mother's hands and looks at it. "Did you bring her back?" she asks.

He looks up and looks at the little girl, who was staring intently at him, waiting for him to answer her question. He nods. She smiles. "I think she'll be ok. And when she wakes up, she'll sing to me like she always does and smile and laugh. She'll be ok." And even though he didn't want to, he still saw doubt in the little girl's brown eyes. She looks up at him. "Right?"

"Ava-" he starts, but then shuts his mouth, rethinking his words. "Just keep hopin' nothing bad happens to your mama. She's a fighter, but sometimes people lose the fights." The words he said broke his heart, but he kept going. "But who knows. She might surprise us." Ava nods and hugs her mother, then gets off the bed and walks over to Daryl. Then, leaning up slightly, she wraps her little arms around Daryl, causing his body to go stiff. When she pulls back, he looks at her. "What was that for?"

"You looked like you needed a hug," she says. "You care about mommy, right?" The question startled him, not at the actual question, but that a four year old was asking. He nods.

"Yeah, I do." She smiles.

"She'll be alright," she says, finally walking out of the room. Daryl stares curiously at the girl before turning back to Emily. He looks at the arm that the word was carved into and takes it in his hand. Her whole forearm was now wrapped up in a bandage, covering the scar that was bound to happen, but he still felt the stitches through the thin fabric. He takes a hold of her hand and sighs.

"Emily, ya can't die on us," he says. "Ya need to live. For Ava, for Emmie, Dani, Lizzie, Jason, everyone. Ya can't leave. We can't have that. Jason would kill me if I let anything happen to ya." He thinks for a second before chuckling sadly to himself. "Sotski would eat me." He places his forehead against their intertwined hands and breathes a shaky breath. "Please wake up, Emily. Live for us, live for me." He suddenly realizes what he says and nods. "I need ya, Emily. I can't go on without ya…I love ya," he finally says, the words rolling off his tongue. "I love ya so much. Please...live for me," he ends, a few lone tears escaping.

The only time he would ever allow himself to cry was for her.

* * *

**A/N: In the first chapter, I said someone with the name Sammie, but it was actually meant to be Emmie XD But now I got this done and he finally says it out loud. Then again, she was passed out. But life's not simple. Thanks for the reviews! Thanks for reading and as always, REVIEW! Luv ya! Hope you enjoyed!**


	11. Gone

**A/N: I'm happy this story has been getting received so well since I started this. I know I haven't updated my other story in a few days, but that's because I have so many ideas and plotlines for this story that I just can't stop writing. Plus, these chapters take me shorter to write because, well, I write shorter chapters for this story and not the 3600-4200 chapters I write for my other story. It's a lot quicker to update, but I will say that I am not giving up on my other story. I'm taking my time with the chapters because I don't want to fuck it up. I really don't want to fuck it up. But this chapter will be sort…spiritual I guess. A little. Maybe. Oh, I don't know. XD Just read.**

**On with the story!**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

Emily's eyes open in the middle of a forest. Her brow furrows as she leans up and looks around. She did remember going to the forest, but not in the area she was in. All around her were white lilies, and bgith green trees with healthy brown trunks. She could hear birds all the way up, that sounded like they were in the sky. She could smell the forest. Just smelling the grass, the dirt, just like she had dreamed they would be when she was younger. She was always locked up in the house when she was a kid. When she was finally let out, she loved feeling the dirt beneath her feet.

She feels that summer breeze on her neck, blowing her hair to the north, like the wind was calling her. Waking in the direction, she couldn't help but feel free. Completely free. She felt like she could go running, and chasing, and dancing, and anything. She felt perfectly in line with herself.

As she follows the wind, her eyes were closed. She just followed it because for some reason, she felt she could trust the movement. No harm would come to her. Her hands would touch the trees as she walked, making sure she wouldn't bump into them. But when she could no longer feel any, she opens her eyes and looks around.

She was on a cliff, and it was overlooking a giant field of rolling hills and everything was very green. Nothing screamed dead. Everything was very much alive. It was like something you would see on a Google earth photo or something like that.

"Nice to see you here," she hears behind her. Emily turns around and her hands go to her mouth, mouthing the gasp that was bound to come out.

"Mandy?" she yells at her younger sister. Mandy laughs and nods.

"Hey Emily," she says, walking up to her. Emily pulls her in for a hug but then pulls back, looking at her confused, her brow furrowed.

"How can I see you? Why?" Emily asks. Mandy chuckles and shakes her head, about to answer, but another voice stops her.

"I think you're smart enough to figure it out, squirt," she hears. Emily turns again and her eyes widen. There was her friend Zala. "I mean, you were honor roll in college." Emily feels tears threatening to go down her face and she runs to Zala, throwing her arms around her.

"God almighty, I can see both of you!" she cries, pulling back and looking at them. "But…how? Am i…am I…dead?" she asks shocked. Zala places a hand on her shoulder while Mandy comes over and lifts up Emily's forearm, and Emily places a hand to her forehead to keep her from passing out. Her arm had the word 'freak' carved into it. "Did I do that?" she asks.

"Someone said it to you and your mind just shut down," Zala says. Emily shakes her head.

"No," she says, backing up. "I can't be dead. This is not the end," she continues to say, putting her head in her hands. "I was controlling it and…God, no," she cries. Both girls come up behind her and drag her back. "I don't-"

"Relax, Emily. You're not gonna die. We're here to bring you back," Mandy says. Emily looks up surprised and her brow furrows.

"You mean you're NOT here to bring me to the afterlife?" Both laugh.

"No, we're not," Zala states, bringing Emily up and taking her over to the cliff to look over, Mandy right behind them. "It's pretty, right?" Emily nods. "Sometimes I wish that you could be here with us, but then I realize that's selfish and people need you to stay alive. Also, you have two girls to take care of." Emily smiles sadly. "How's Emma doing?"

"Great," she says to Zala. "I wish you could be there." She turns to Mandy. "And Ava is so smart. She's learning more every day. Becoming more and more like you." Mandy chuckles.

"That may be a good or a bad thing." She comes down to Emily's eye level, who was now dangling her feet over the cliff, Zala right next to her. "And I'm pretty sure there are people who would be crushed if you were to die. Dani, Elizabeth, Jason, even Dan. Ava and Emmie. Oh, and let's not forget Dixon," she chuckles to Zala, who laughs. Emily looks at them confused.

"You know who Daryl is?" Both laugh again.

"Yeah, we do. And he would be completely devastated if you were to die." Emily looks down, a blush on her face.

"He would?" Zala laughs.

"Pft, hell yeah. The way he looks at you, I swear every single time-" Mandy sends her a pointed look. Zala laughs. "Ok, I'll let her figure it out." Emily looks up confused.

"What do you mean? Oh, whatever…I don't think that he'll be devastated, he can make it through. He's tough." Mandy snorts.

"Oh Emily, if only you knew what he said," she mumbles. "Trust me, he will be." Emily looks back down at her arm and is startled that she sees stitches going into it. "Seems like someone is fixing your arm. You ready to go back?"

"Yeah," Emily nods. "I'll just…I miss you," she says. Zala looks at her with a sympathetic look and pulls her in for a hug, and Mandy joins in.

"We miss you too," they both say when they pull back. "But it's time to go back. And don't worry, we'll be watching from above." Emily nods sadly and smiles at them.

"Ok, so…how do I get back?" Zala touches her forehead and all of a sudden, her vision goes black, and she passes out onto the ground. Or onto something. All she knew was that she felt herself hit something hard.

* * *

Dani was sitting outside with Jason, Elizabeth, and Rick. The rest of the group was inside. Dani was telling Rick about how she thought that it was Carol, while Elizabeth and Jason stood behind her to defend her reasons. But Rick didn't seem to be questioning it.

"You really think that she did it?" he finally asks. Dani nods.

"I really do. I don't know why she would, but she did." Rick nods and leans his hands against the railing of the porch, shaking his head.

"She wasn't always like this. This world changed her. But I never thought she would deliberately use someone else's own weaknesses against themselves." Dani comes next to him.

"What has she done?" He shakes his head again.

"A while ago she killed two of our own because a sickness was spreading, and the people who were sick could have been healed, but Carol beat us to the job by just killing them. We kicked her out of the group, but for some reason we took her back in and she's basically killed Emily."

"All to just get with Daryl," she chuckles. "Has she always been crazy?" He shakes his head again.

"No, just after her daughter was killed that's when she started to get harder, emotionless." He leans back up. "Now we just need her to confirm that she did. We can't go on just guesses-"

"I did," they hear from the door. All four of them turn and see Carol leaning against the door frame with her head down. "I told her she was freak."

"You did?" Dani asks calmly, walking up to her. Carol nods. "AND YOU KNEW WHAT IT WOULD DO, DIDN'T YOU?!" she screams, reaching her hands out to strange Carol and end her life right there. But Jason and Rick some up behind her to stop in her reaching. "You BITCH! YOU MIGHT HAVE KILLED MY SISTER AND SHE MIGHT BE GONE! ALL BECAUSE YOU WANTED A PIECE OF ASS, YOU SELFISH LITTLE-"

"Carol?" they all hear behind them. Now all FIVE of them turn and Dani goes still. There was Daryl in the doorway, looking at Carol with an incredulous look. Dani did not think he would have been coming out of Emily's room anytime soon. This was a surprise to her. "Ya said that to her, Carol?" he asks again. Carol seemed speechless.

"Daryl I-" He puts a hand up, stopping her in her words. He pinches the bridge of his nose and turns away, trying so hard not to yell and scream at Carol like Dani had, even though everything within him was telling him to do so. Instead, he looks at her with most hateful look he could muster. He walks closer and shakes his head.

"I should kill ya right now," he hisses at her. "She might be dead. Ya might have just killed Emily, and guess what? If she's dead, Ava and Emmie have no mother, they would have no one, and it would all be your fault. I can't believe ya are really that insane that ya tried to kill her by this. I thought ya finally got back on track…I guess I was wrong," he says, starting to walk back to Emily's room.

"Daryl, I don't know what came over me I just-" Daryl turns sharply to her.

"How can ya not know what came over ya? That is the biggest bullshit I ever heard. And now she might be gone because ya 'didn't know' what came over ya," he says, placing quotes over the words didn't know. He shakes his head again and looks at Dani. "She's gone." Carol's eyes widen.

"Daryl-"

"Gone." He now walks back down the hall, not turning back for a minute. Carol turns to the rest of them but none seem surprised by Daryl's decision and all seemed to agree. And without a final word, Carol walks out of the house and to the back yard.

"She's gone," Dani repeats, looking at Rick, Jason, and Elizabeth. All of them nod. "Gone."

* * *

Emily's eyes open and she looks around the room she was in. It was hers, but it was really bright. There must not have been a cloud in the sky outside. She leans up on her bedpost and looks out the window, and sees that she was right. Not a single cloud. It was beautiful.

She looks to the clock on the nightstand and sees that it was around twelve. She looks to her arm and sees the entire bottom half wrapped up in a bandage. She starts to unravel it slightly to take a peak at the damage, but ended up unraveling the whole thing. She cringes at the messily stitched words, and she thinks bitterly 'maybe I could be the Joker now.'

She hated looking at stitches. All the time they just wanted to make her throw up. She wraps up the bandage again and gets up from the bed, walking slowly over to her bathroom, and then turning on the faucet to rinse her face.

When she truns back to her room, she grabs a book from the bookshelf and starts to read. You would think after almost being dead, someone would scream and shout for joy that they were alive, but no, Emily was reading a book. More specifically a Harry Potter book.

She reads on until she feels her eyes start to droop, and that's when she knew she read a little too much. She walks over to the door to leave the room, but finds it locked. She tries to open it again, but it wouldn't budge at all. Her brow furrows. Who the hell would lock her in?

Backing up, she falls against her bed and sighs. Well, she was locked in for a while until someone came back. What to do?

* * *

**A/N: So I decided to end it there because I wanted to save the reunion for next chapter. Thanks for reading and REVIEW! Hope you enjoyed!**


	12. Alive and Standing

**A/N: Thanks for the new reviews and all that! Makes me happy! And this chapter I think I'll finally do what I've wanted to do for a while since I started this story, and I don't know whow it's gonna play out because half the time I suk at writing those kind of scenes, but hey, maybe it'll tunr out to be some sort of masterpiece XD And I'm currently thinking of writing another story and already have a pretty good plotline down, so after I finish this chapter I'll be writing some of that and testing it out, see if I like it or not. I actually think it might be a good story. But i need to finish this chapter first. Ok….as usual…**

**On with the story!**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

Emily groans as she looks out the window again. It had been hours now and she was BORED. Sure it was her room, and sure, she had electricity, but there was so much you could do in a room by yourself for such a long period of time. She had alost started to play guitar, which she hadn't been doing since college. She missed playing it, but she wanted to do something else besides sitting around on her ass and just laying on her bed. She wanted to go outside and feel the fresh air. She hated being locked up. Half the time, that was why she even left her house.

She gets up from her bed and walks over to the balcony in her room that led out to the lake. She wanted to see Sotski and get the fuck out of there. If she stayed in there another minute, she thinks she'll go insane. Grabbing her knife and gun, she uses her good hand and pivots over the railing of the balcony, then lands on the grass below. The landing was rough, but just to feel the earth underneath her feet felt like heaven to her compared to the hard wood flooring that was her bedroom.

She starts to run away from the house and into the forest. She needed to go down to the lake. Maybe she would even go for a swim. She was sure that the others wouldn't mind that much. They were probably all doing something else anyway, letting her rest.

* * *

Dani leans on the front porch, staring out at the wilderness in front of her, her mind seething with anger and hate at the woman who basically killed her sister. Carol. She hated her. She had thought that she was ok. She seemed nice enough, but now she just needed to get the fuck out of her life and get off her land. Emily.

God, she could be dead and it would all be her fault. She could have stopped Carol if she didn't go into the house to get her cleaning supplies. She could have saved her. She couldn't believe what she did. All to get to Daryl. What a cunt.

"You ok?" she hears behind her. Dani turns around and comes face to face with one of the other groups leaders, Rick. She had to admit, the man looked good for the apocalypse. She shakes her head and leans it in between her hands.

"Pft, no. Not in any way, shape, or form," she whimpers. "My sister could be dead and-God, I cant even imagine life without her. It's just blank, you know?" she says, turning back to him. "Without her smile, or her laugh, even the way she talks…it just feels lifeless. She's been through so much and has accomplished a lot and to die of…of this?! It just seems like the most ironic situation ever," she chuckles. "I mean-God," she ends, shaking her head.

"I think she'll be ok," Rick says, coming up next to her. Dani looks at him from the corner of her eyes. She raises an eyebrow. "From what I've seen, nothing seems to hold her down. And you looked like you took care of her gash well. She'll be ok." Dani smiles at him.

"Thanks Rick," she replies, nodding her head. He nods back at her.

"Where's Dan?" he asks. She snorts.

"I actually have no clue. After Emily was taken in, he kind of just comforted me for a second and then took off. He might be in the house somewhere, but hell if I know. Didn't tell me." She looks to him. "Where's Daryl. I can tell he's going through a tough time right now."

"I think he's eating something, finally. He hasn't been in her room for a little while, but I can tell he wants to go check on her." She sighs. "I have a feeling he loves her." She glares playfully at him, shaking her head.

"No shit?" she asks mockingly. "What gave it away? The fact that he almost killed Carol before or the fact that he risked his life to go find her? Or anything else? Take your pick," she replies, causing him to chuckle a little, which caused her to smile. "I've noticed it since she told me about him."

"You have?" he asks. She nods.

"The way she talked about him the day after he came to the house…God, it felt like she had a high school crush, or something like that. 'Oh Dani, his arms are SO tone!'" she imitates, using a high pitched voice, causing Rick to laugh. She shakes her head. "God, I wanted to kill myself that night. It was like a sleepover that all girls do at is gossip. Now, I would give anything for her to say those words again." She looks back out to the forest. "Hey, what ever happened to the mom?" she asks, indicating to his children. He looks down and sighs.

"Died of child birth," he replies. She cringes.

"Oh, that sucks. Sorry," she says. He shakes his head.

"It's been a year…a very tough year, but life continues to go. Even though it felt like it wouldn't, it does. Groups been through a lot. Haven't had a real place in forever. Just happy that this place popped up out of nowhere." She smiles.

"Well, we're thankful that you're not insane. We've come across people like that," she chuckles. "Byt the way, Judith is adorable." He chuckles.

"Thank you," he replies. She was about to say something else when two people burst through the door, Elizabeth and Daryl.

"She's gone," both say. Dani and Rick look at them with a confused look.

"Who?"

"Emily!" Elizabeth yells, looking out. "She's gone and-Oh my God where did she go?" she cries. Rick turns to Daryl.

"You mean she's not even in her room anymore?" Daryl nods.

"Not in there. I mean, she's alive, but she's gone again." Dani swear under her breath and smacks her forehead.

"She must have woken up hours ago," she states. All three look at her.

"What do you mean?" Dani shakes her head.

"Unless she's sleeping, Emily can not stay in one play for more than four hours. It drives her crazy. She must have gone out on the balcony and jumped to get out of here. She's probably down at the lake. God, she can't be out there with that injury!" she yells. She turns to Daryl. "Daryl, can you go bring her back. I know she's awake, but we can't-"

"On it," he says, already walking down the stairs and to the back to get a horse. Dani sighs.

"I can't believe her. Even when she's injured," she chuckles, shaking her head. Rick comes up behind her.

"Well, at least we know she's ok." Dani nods.

"At least we know that."

* * *

"Emily!" Daryl yells as he ties Crackers up near one of the trees near the lake. He walks closer to the lake and couldn't see her anywhere. Ok, he was overjoyed that Emily was still alive and breathing, but really? She leaves the house AGAIN? Why couldn't she just stay in the god damn house if she couldn't be in the same place for long? There were plenty of rooms in the house she could have gone to.

He walks further and further to the pier, and starts to panic. Did she pass out again and fall into the water? Was she dead? Was she infected? He shakes his head to give rid of these thoughts and continues. "Emily!" he yells again.

This time, he saw movement in the water and then someone pop out of the blue crystal liquid. And then he hears her laugh, and breathes an automatic sigh of relief, walking down the pier. She climbs up on it and places her t-shirt over her intimates, not even knowing that Daryl was coming her way.

"Emily!" he shouts. No response. His brow furrows. "Emily?" he says again, but he still gets no response. Walking closer, he sees that she Is staring out in the distance, and he follows her gaze to see Sotskit swimming away. He hears her sigh and sees her shoulders slumps slightly.

"Bye Sotski," she mutters under her breath, Sotski had to leave for the day. She had ridden on his back for the first time in a few weeks and she loved to do that. He would be back tomorrow.

"Emily?" she hears behind her. She jumps up and almost throws the knife that was in her hand, only to see it was just Daryl. She sighs thankfully and places her knife in her belt.

"It's just you," she sighs, her smile on her face again.

"Why the hell did ya leave the house?" he hisses angrily at her, but she still just smiles at him. 'Can't ever wipe that off' he thinks.

"I think Dani must have told you if you found out that I left." He rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, but there were plenty other places to go in the house! Ya didn't have to up and leave!" She crosses her arms.

"I was fine on my own-"

"Weren't fine the last time," he replies, indicating to her still bandaged arm. Now it was time for her to roll her eyes.

"That wasn't me. That was my mind taking over. This is me. I'm in control." He still looks at her angrily for a second, debating whether or not to say something else, but just decides on a sigh and looking down to the ground for a moment, shaking his head.

"Ya had us all worried sick," he replies , looking back up. "We all thought ya were gonna die, all because of what Carol said," he says, hissing Carols name out like it was acid. "Damn near scared the shit out of me," he adds on quietly. She smiles softly at him and walks up, taking his hand in hers. She places her hand on his chin and forces him to make eye contact with her.

"I'm alive and standing. I'm ok. No need for shit to be scared out of," she chuckles. She leans foreword slightly, but before closing any sort of gap between them, she smiles. "By the way," she starts. "I love you too." And she connects her lips to his.

At first, he was stiff. She had heard what he said? He thought she was long gone deep down. Then, realizing that he was asking too many questions and the girl he loved just said he loved him back, he relaxes and kisses back, placing his hand son her waist to pull her closer. This was long overdue.

* * *

**A/N: Yea, they kissed! :) I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading! As always, REVIEW! They always make me happy! Thanks again!**


	13. Convincing

**A/N: Sorry i haven't updated in a few days, but i wanted to make sure i could think of his to execute this chapter well. I'll try to make it as long as i can because my attention is also on the Wolf of Wall Street right now and that's gonna keep me occupied for a while as well. And i'm also not feeling up to par because i just did a dare and it was the most disgusting thing i've ever done, so cheers to me XD But i'm still gonna write. Might not get anything up tomorrow, but hey, who knows?**

**On with the story!**

* * *

Emily didn't know how long they kissed for. For the matter, she didn't really care. But all she did know was that when their lips touched, she felt the sparks you were supposed to feel when you kiss someone. Not the shit that she felt when she kissed other guys. Daryl was special. She knew he was.

Her arms go around his neck as their kiss got more and more passionate, her hands getting tangled in his hair. He surprises her by biting her bottom lip, causing her to gasp and for him to have easy access to her mouth, slipping his tongue in. She lets out a throaty moan in reply, tightening her grip on his hair. That one action almost made him want to take her right there on the dock, but he didn't want to fuck any sort of relationship that he could have with her.

Pulling back, he sees a small pout on her face from him pulling away, causing him to chuckle slightly and lean his forehead against hers. "Why'd you stop?" she asks, giggling slightly to herself.

"Darlin', as much as I want to make love to ya until the sun come up, I don't think you're ready for that yet," he replies. She raises an eyebrow at him.

"You don't know that," she chuckles, then smiles, leaning in and pecking his lips again. When she pulls back, she laughs. "We should have done that earlier," she says. "How long have you-"

"I realized it about two weeks ago," he says. She gasps.

"Then why the hell didn't you tell me?" she asks amazed. "We could have prevented-" He silences her with a kiss again, causing her to smile and reply. When he pulls back, he sighs.

"Ya really scared the shit out of me," he whispers. "I was starting to think ya really were gone…" he trails off.

"I know…I think I was gone for a short while. I talked with my sister and my friend. There the reason I'm even here right now. Brought me back. Told me that some people would be devastated if I was to pass away." She leans up and pecks his lips one more time. "Especially you," she chuckles. He shrugs his shoulders.

"Ya sisters would be right," he replies. She laughs, looking back out into the lake.

"Sorry I just up and left. I should have told someone. But I really wanted to go down to the lake and see Sotski and I wanted to swim and-" She laughs, causing him to raise an eyebrow.

"What're ya laughing about?" he asks. She just shakes her head.

"Nothing, it just reminded me of something of when I was younger. It's nothing." She looks down. "Is Carol still at the house?" she asks quietly. She feels Daryl's body tense up for a split second at the sound of her name, but relax a minute later.

"Yeah, but don't worry, she'll be gone soon-" She shakes her head.

"Don't kick her out," she says quickly. He looks at her astounded.

"What?" he asks, confused as to why she wouldn't want her to be gone. "Emily, she used your own weaknesses against ya and tried to kill ya. Does that now freak ya out at all? She needs to go!" he states. But she just shakes her head and takes his hand.

"I understand where she's coming from with wanting to give rid of me. At one point I was kind of like her in college. She just needs to work through it slowly, and I'm sure if we gave her time, she will. She's just mad and confused and wants things to be her way, but she'll realize soon enough that it cant be like that. Plus, I don't think she can survive by herself out there. She'll die within days." Daryl looks at her, wide eyed.

"I can't believe ya care about that woman's safety when she wanted ya dead," he says, shaking his head. "Crazy," he mutters. She just laughs.

"I'm not crazy, I just have good morals. And I think sending someone out by theirself isn't fair. Let me talk to her. I'm sure I can talk some sense into her." Daryl looks at her concerned.

"I really don't think that's a good idea, Em," he says. She smiles at the nickname but continues anyway, shaking her head.

"I know I can talk some sense into her. Just let me try," she says, placing a hand on his shoulder. He holds her gaze for a second before sighing, shaking his head.

"Crazy," he says again, chuckling to himself. "Ya better be some kind of shrink or some shit like that because I don't think something like that is gonna happen anytime soon." Emily rolls her eyes.

"And that is where I will prove you wrong," she states, reaching down and grabbing his hand in hers, intertwining her fingers with his. "Come on. I'm sure Dani is freaking out over me being gone. Did she curse under her breath?" she asks. Daryl nods, and she laughs. "Oh, Dani," she chuckles.

* * *

When Dani saw Emily coming through the forest with Dani, her first instinct was to yell at her, spite her for leaving, scold her for doing such a thing as that, and then lock her in her room and her balcony forever, but once she sees Ava run up to Emily, a huge smile on her face, she decided to do all of the above later so the two could have their little reunion.

"Mama!" Ava screams, running up to her. Emily smiles and releases her hand from Daryl's, and stretches out her arms to Ava, who goes running into them. Emily takes her up in her arms and kisses her head, causing Ava to giggle. Ava looks to Daryl and smiles. "I told you she would be ok!" she said, pointing to him with a smile on her face. Emily looks at Daryl with a raised eyebrow who just shrugs, but she could see the amusement in his eyes at the little girl.

"I'm sure you did, sweetie. Come on, let's go see Aunt Dani," she states, to which Ava laughs. Emily walks up to the porch and is met with a piercing glare. "Hey sis," she says, chuckling slightly. Dani smacks the back of her head, causing Emily to smile.

"Why the heck did you leave you stupid, stupid, girl!" she exclaims. Emily just smiles sheepishly at her sister, causing Dani to groan, shaking her head. "I can't believe you're ok," she says.

"I'm alive," Emily states. Dani looks up, and Emily could see the hint of tears in her eyes as she did so. Emily puts Ava down and leans down to her height. "How about you go tell the rest that Daryl found me, ok?" she asks. Ava nods and takes off into the house. Emily stands back up and walks over to her sister, then takes her in her arms. "I'm ok," she whispers.

"Thank God, you are," Dani chuckles, hugging her back. "Wait until Carol sees you and she gets her ass kicked out-" Emily groans and pulls back to look her sister in the eye.

"Don't kick Carol out. I'm gonna talk to her," she says. Dani's eyes widen.

"Are fucking serious?" she asks. Turning to Daryl, she points at Emily. "Is she fucking serious?" she asks him. He shrugs, a small chuckle escaping his lips.

"That's basically what I thought when she told me," Daryl says. Emily nods and makes Dani look back at her, who had an incredulous expression on her face. Dani places a hand on Emily's forehead.

"Are you coming down with something because that is the most horrible idea you have ever said in your life, and you've said some pretty bad stuff." Emily chuckles. "Emily, this woman tried to kill you! This is not a good idea at all!" she states. Emily shrugs.

"If you're that worried about it, I'll have someone stay outside the door while I talk to her," she says. "In private," adding on to make sure she got her point across. Dani looks down at her feet, obviously trying to see if she was going to be able to allow anything of the sort ot happen, but then looks back up, a determined look in her eye.

"Dude, you need to have someone with you. I am not letting you talk to her alone." Emily glares at her.

"I am 28. I am able to handle myself. If you hear me scream, that's when you panic. Like I said , I will have someone outside on the door. Just let me talk to her and we can work everything out." Dani stares hard at her for a second, then drops her hands to her side, sighing. She knew she wouldn't be able to stop Emily from doing what she wanted to do. She did what she wanted and took no shits from anyone.

"Fine. Just…please make sure you have someone with you on the outside of the door. I really don't want another run in with crazy pants." Emily nods, smiling.

"Trust me, I'll be fine." All of a sudden, the front door opens and three bodies pile out. Elizabeth looked like she was gonna cry, while Jason and Rick smile at her. Elizabeth runs over and attacks Emily in a warm bear hug, her arms tight on around her. Emily laughs and returns the hug.

"Don't you ever do that again, you hear? Or else I will personally hunt you down and lock you in your room forever!" Elizabeth states angrily, pulling back to look at Emily. "And I mean it!" she says. Emily smiles at her friends bossy behavior, nodding her head.

"I swear on my life," she says. Elizabeth nods.

"Now we can figure out exactly what to do with Carol," Rick states. Emily looks down at her feet before looking back up at the small group.

"I don't want to give rid of Carol," she states. All thee of the newcomers stare at her.

"WHAT?" they all ask. Dani pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Here we go again."

* * *

**A/N: A little short, but I wanted to make the conversation with Carol a single chapter because I have an interesting back-story for Emily and want to incorporate it. And sorry I haven't updated in like forever. Been busy with other things and my other story. So now I finally got a chapter up. I hope you like it! Reviews always help! Thanks for reading!**


	14. Junior Year

**A/N: Wow, I'm surprised how well the last chapter did. I'm happy I got a lot of reviews and very thankful for it :) So this chapter might be a bit shorter but that's just because it's gonna be Carol and Emily talking and I don't want to fill it in with bullshit and all that crap. I want it to be good and I want to make it sound good. And it's currently twelve fourteen in the morning so it might not be good but who knows I'll give it try. And then also tonights episode, I don't know why but I have a weird feeling about that Eugene guy, maybe it's the mullet XD But all in all it was good and HOLY FUCKING GOD NEXT WEEK'S EPISODE IS MY SHIP BETHYL I AM FREAKING OUT THEYRE HIDING IN A TRUNK TOGETHER AND ASGEWFSD**

**K, now that I got that out, on with the story!**

* * *

Emily looks at herself in the mirror of her room and sighs at her appearance. This world had made her skinnier, but she needed to eat more food because she was staring to look like a skeleton. Halloween comes around ever again and she'll just be going as herself. Her clothes hung loosely on her body and she realized she needed to go and get some jeans that fit her. And a shirt. But not a sweater. She liked her big sweater. It made her feel happy.

She steps back from the mirror and takes her knife, putting it in her holster just in case Carol was truly crazy and she needed to do something in order to tame her from killing Emily. The thought made her shiver, but she knew that she had to just in case.

"Are ya sure ya want to do this?" she hears from the doorway. She turns towards it and smiles. Daryl was leaning on the post, looking at her concerned. She chuckles.

"I'll be fine, Daryl. I'm just gonna have a talk, ok? Nothing terrible." He still has that concerned face. Rolling her eyes, she walks up, leans in, and pecks his lips. When she pulls back, she smiles at him. "I'll be fine. I mean, if you want you can stay outside the door-" He snorts.

"I was already planning on doing that," he states. She snickers.

"I had a feeling," she chuckles. Walking out the door, she goes down the hall and to the room that Carol was in. She puts her hand on the doorknob and takes one more look at Daryl before turning the golden knob and stepping into the bright room, closing the door behind her.

The room was just a guest room in the past life, but now it was home to Carol, who stood up as soon as Emily came in. Emily leans against the wall and chuckles, crossing her arms.

"Calm down. I'm not here to kick you out. I'm here to talk with you," she states, coming over to the bed and sitting down. Carol stares at her for a second, and Emily notices. She pats the spot next to her and Carol looks at her again before slowly sitting down, a bit further away then the spot Emily had pat on. Emily sighs and looks up to make eye contact with her.

"Ok, so I know why you attacked me with my own words and all that. I know. Elizabeth told you by accident and you used it against me. But I just don't get why you would do it," she says quietly. Carol puts her head in her hands and sighs.

"To be true, I don't know," she says, looking back up. "I just felt so much anger and jealousy that it kind of took over and I wanted you out of the picture. Once I realized what I did, I wanted to go back in time and undo it. I felt so bad. And I understand that Daryl loves you," she chokes at the end but continues on anyway. "I can see it. And I'm happy for him. I just…I'm so sorry," she ends. Emily smiles sadly.

"You don't need to apologize." Carol looks at her wide eyed.

"What?" she yells. Emily places her hand over Carol's mouth and points to her door.

"Don't yell. Daryl's outside the door and he feels like you're gonna do something bad. I don't want a smack down to go down in here because of some stupid scream." Carol nods but still looks at her with a confused look. Emily sighs again, looking down at her feet.

"So, you know I'm bipolar and all that. I have those episodes and I take pills to keep them on track. And all that jazz. I've done some pretty…bad stuff in the past when I haven't taken my pills. I turn into a person that no one wants to be around. And I do bad shit. Now, granted, what I did was under a disease and that took over. You weren't. But I'll let that slide. Just promise me that you wont tell anyone about this?" she says. Carol nods and waits for her to go on.

"I won't" she says. Emily nods, looks down at her feet, takes a deep breath, and looks back up.

"Ok, so in my junior year of college, I was at the top of my game. I was one of the best students in my school and did well on almost single test and all that. I was so great. And then I met this guy. Tyler. Oh, he was sexy. He was one of the most sexiest people I have ever met in my life. Don't tell Daryl I said that," she adds on, causing Carol to chuckle slightly. "And he was literally one of the best people I had ever met. He was sweet and nice, we had study dates and talked on a regular bases. He was a jock and I was the schools princess. It was like a match made in heaven, and it felt right, at the time. But then, Rebecca came along," she mumbles.

"Rebecca?" Carol asks. Emily nods.

"Rebecca. She captured Tyler's eye. Now, Tyler and I weren't a couple, at least not yet, but everyone thought we would be. I thought we would be. He was giving me signs and signals every single second of the day and I had such a feeling he was gonna kiss me, but then he saw Rebecca. For the next week, he completely ignored me and talked with Rebecca. No one but her. And I was heartbroken. I didn't think of any choice to live on. I had thought he was the one for me. That we were gonna be together and all that. I didn't find a will to live. And that's when I stopped taking my pills. I cut myself on my wrist, but that wasn't successful, and then I really went crazy," she mumbles, chuckling slightly. "I took the knife I used to cut myself and put it in my belt, and then I used the blood from my wrist to wipe it on my face to make myself look scary. Then, my rage was so big now that I wanted to kill them, so I snuck into Rebecca's dorm hall, into her dorm, and saw that Tyler and Rebecca were in there and they were sleeping and holding each other. So I took the knife, and I stabbed it in the girls head." She heard Carol gasp and she sighs. "And then took out and sunk it into Tyler's. I killed both of them because of jealousy and pride, not just because I wasn't on my pills. It was honestly the most horrifying thing I ever did. And the cops never found out either. I never even meant to. It was under influence of my disease. But the jealousy just added fuel to the fire." She looks at Carol and chuckles.

"Why did you tell me that?" she asks.

"I told you that because I wanted to let you know that you're not alone. Even though I'm the victim here, I understand where it comes from. Because I've done it, and actually succeeded in it. But I really need your word on this that you won't ever do it again because it just isn't right. The group wants to kick you out but right now I'm your only supporter in keeping you here."

"But why?" Carol asks incredulously.

"No one can make it out there alone anymore. And even though what you did was bad and…well, bad, no one deserves that at all. I would feel bad and I'm the cut up one. So do you promise not to do any crap like that for now on?" she states. Carol nods fervently.

"I already swore that after I did it. I'm so sorry, Emily," she says. Emily smiles at her.

"It's fine. Now, how about we get outside and say hello to everyone?" she says, getting up and sticking out her hand. Carol eyes it warily.

"I don't think that's a good idea. I'll wait until everyone's cooled down until I go out again." Emily shrugs her shoulders and goes to the door.

"Just come out when you're ready, ok?" Carol nods and Emily opens the door, steps outside, and closes it behind her. When she does, she turns to Daryl and sticks out her tongue. "Told you I would be fine," she states. He rolls his eyes.

"Did ya make nice with Carol?" he asks. She nods. "How the hell did ya do that?" he chuckles. She crosses her arms.

"You don't want to know," she replies, going off to the backyard. "But yeah, we're cool. Where's Ava? I have to do something for her," she says, peeking into Ana's room. Daryl looks at Emily.

"What do ya have to do?" he asks. She chuckles.

"Something that is a secret and that you will not find out about," she chuckles, heading off into the kitchen to look for her child. Daryl stares at her from behind for a second then shakes his head. This girl was a mystery.

* * *

**A/N: like I said, shorter. But hey, its really late and I wanted to have Carol in her own I wrote that in less than an hour. That's a new record XD Hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading, and REVIEW! Luv ya! :)**


	15. Two Months Later

**A/N: Hey guys! Long time no chapter, huh? XD Ok, so the reason why I've been off is a lot of reasons. One, I've been focusing on a new story, 'What Doesn't Kill You', and it's been doing really well, so I wanted to get chapters up for that quite quickly, which I have been doing, but now I'm writing a chapter for this and another chapter for my other one later. Two, a lot of personal and family stuggles in the past couple of weeks. I've gotten into two car crashes, both of which were drunk drivers, school as always with grades and shit, studying, and also I got sick yesterday and I still am today, but I'm still finding time to write this chapter for all of you. I'll try to update this as much as possible for all of you cause I feel bad for letting it go this long without a chapter. So let's get on with this story!  
**

* * *

**2 months later**

Emily stared at the deserted toys in the old Walmart she and Daryl had arrived in to get some supplies for back at the house. She knew there were some good things that had come out of this apocalypse, Ava and Emmie, being reunited with her sister, meeting Daryl and his group, but still, looking at all these toys made her sad beyond belief. To think, none of these toys would ever have an owner.

She was a strange girl, a beauty but a very strange girl. And as she felt a connection with the ocean, she could feel connection with other things as well. Maybe it was her love for Toy Story that she felt bad for the toys, even if they probably didn't come to life when humans were around, but she felt the need to take one.

Looking at all of them, she decided to pick out a stuffed orca whale for Ava and a little mouse toy for Emmie. Both of them had developed a love for animals over the past year, and Emily had introduced Ava to Sotski a week before, and it already seems like she loved him more then any other animal. Then again, Sotski was pretty good when it came to little kids.

Ava. She sighs when she puts the whale in her bag. She loved those two kids more than anything, but she wished she could have her own little girl, that looked like her, was made of her, not an adopted girl. She wished she could have a baby of her own. But in this world, that seemed almost impossible now.

Then again, a normal life was impossible now. She couldn't get married to Daryl, live in a nice little house, and have kids like she had always dreamed. No, she was to spend the rest of her days fighting for her life in this fucked up world, trying to stay alive and keep her family alive.

She glances down at her right arm and sighs. The word freak was still craved into it, and would always be there. It was a scar. And it just kept reminding her of what she truly was. On the inside, she was strange. She was freak. But she wouldn't want it any other way. She was glad being different and not normal. That's what made her special. She could practically talk to whales for God's sake. She was different in every shape and way possible.

She smiles at herself and begins to walk back to the food section where she had to go in the first place. When she arrives, she sees exactly what she needed and grabs it putting it in her bag. A bunch of bread, some meat, water bottles. She was always quite happy she lived in Maine, because most people had gone down south or just a bit to find a safe zone. Maine was practically abandoned around the area she live in, so she had plenty of supplies to get. She loved it.

"Ya just got here now?" she hears behind her. She smiles at the voice and turns her head to make eye contact with Daryl, who was walking over to her, an amused look on his face. "Where have ya been in this store?" She shrugs.

"I was over by the toy section. You know me, always a kid on the inside." He chuckles and comes behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Don't I know it," he replies, resting his chin on her shoulder. She turns her head a bit to see him. 'God, he's gorgeous,' she thinks to herself.

"I got some toys for Ava. Stuffed little orca whale." He rolls his eyes at that and she chuckles.

"Of course ya did," he replies, chuckling slightly, turning her body around to face him. "That little girl is starting to love that whale more then ya do" She snorts and shakes her head.

"No one can love Sotski more than me. But she's definitely a close second." She smiles at him and leans up, kissing him on the lips, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him closer to her. The kiss got more and more passionate by the second, and sooner or later both were kissing just as hungrily as the other one was.

He moved his mouth down to her neck and started to trail his way down, leaving sweet kisses on the way, causing Emily to moan in pleasure. He stops at the are where her neck and shoulder met and bites her gently, making sure that it would leave a mark. She knew he would do that, to mark her as his, and she didn't mind one bit. But right now she wanted his mouth back on hers.

She pulls his head up and crashes her lips to his again. By now, she was pushed up against the shelf behind her and his hands were roaming her body as they pleased. And by God did she want him to touch her, but the distinct sound of a grumbling moan some aisles behind stopped her from letting him do that.

She felt his hands go under her shirt and she had to find all her will power to stop him from going any further. She places her hands on his to stop him and disconnects her lips from his. He looks at her with a confused look but then she gestures her head behind her. He listens for a moment before he hears the moan as well. Sighing, he steps back and loads his crossbow.

"Fucking assholes always have to ruin the fun," he mumbles, causing Emily to chuckle and to take out the knife she had. She places a hand on his shoulder and he looks up.

"Let me take care of this one," she whispers. He stares at her for a second before nodding and letting her take off. She sees that the walker was facing the other way, not looking at her. She quickly and quietly sneaks up behind the walker making sure not to step on any debris on ground that would give her away to him. Raising her knife, she gets close enough to stab it in the head. When the knife makes contact with the decayed skin, it sprays out blood, which lands on Emily's face. She makes a disgusted expression but kicks the dead asshole to the side. Sighing she turns back to Daryl who was coming towards her again.

"Ya know how to use that knife well know," he states. She chuckles.

"Of course I do. I learned from the master," she states, nudging his side with her elbow. He chuckles slightly and takes a look at her face.

"Gotta clean that up," he murmurs, taking her hand and leading her over to the counter beside them. He leans her against it and takes out a rag from his pocket, then begins to wipe the blood from her face, all while Emily just smiles at him. He looks at her confused. "What ya smilin' about over there?" he asks, a slight chuckle in his voice.

"You," she replies. "You can be the epitome of a badass in a second and then a caring boyfriend the next. I find it adorable," she chuckles. He raises an eyebrow at her, then shakes his head.

"Dixon's ain't adorable," he mumbles, going back to cleaning her face. She places her hand on his chin and pulls him closer, connecting her lips with his for the second time in probably ten minutes. When she pulls back, she sees that he had a small smile on his face.

"Would just accept the damn compliment?" she giggles quietly. He rolls his eyes and places the rag back in his pocket. He looks back at her and smiles.

"There's that pretty face," he mumbles, tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear, letting his fingers waver there for a second before falling to his side. He gestures his head towards the door. "Come on, we gotta get back to the house." She nods and follows in his steps.

"I guess we'll just have to continue our fun later," she whispers to him, causing him to chuckle.

"Oh, ya know we will."

* * *

"AVA, BE CAREFUL!" Emily yells to Ava as she played by the water with Natalie and Judy. Judith could walk now, and boy was she a handful. Emily shakes her head and turns back to the people who had come down with her. Dani was chuckling next to Maggie, who had found time to finally enjoy a nice girls day out. While Elizabeth was talking to Carol.

Granted, it had been very tense the moment Carol stepped out of that bedroom after Emily had forgiven her, but sooner or later, later rather then sooner, she was slowly being accepted. If Emily could forgive her, the main person who was hurt, then the rest would. They could never really trust her at all, but the least they could do was be civil.

Then came Emily. She acted like nothing happened at all. She would talk to Carol, offer to take her down to the lake to relax, be nice to her. It actually aggravated Carol that this girl seemed to never hold a grudge against anyone. She was just too damn nice. But then again, she was the only girl who was ever actually really nice to her now.

She didn't want to like Emily. She still kind of didn't. She still loved Daryl more then anything here, and he seemed to not like her at all anymore. She could understand why. But there was always that part in her that still love him. But he was Emily's, not hers, and she had to remember that, even if her jealousy might get the best of her sometimes.

Emily walks back to the group and chuckles, sitting next to Dani. "Those kids will be the death of me," she says to her sister and to the group of girls. They all chuckle.

"Yeah, they are a but hyper," Lizzie states. "But I will say that it feels good to just come down here and relax by the water." Maggie nods in agreement.

"How's Sotski been doing?" she asks. Emily had introduced everyone to Sotski in the past couple of months. And he seemed to like everyone. Everyone except Carol that is.

"He's doing great. Still strong after twenty years of knowing the guy." Elizabeth chuckles at something. "What?" she asks laughing.

"Oh, I was just thinking about you and Daryl," she replies knowingly. "I mean, you guys WERE on a raid together and who knows what went down," she mumbles. Emily throws a small rock at her sister gently, who chuckles at her.

"Nothing went down," she replies back. "At least before a walker came," she adds on quietly. All the girls gasp at her.

"So if a walker hadn't come you would have done it with him right there on the store floor?" Dani says. Emily's cheeks blush furiously as Maggie shrugs her shoulders.

"I've done it before," she says, causing Elizabeth to look at her.

"You HAVE?" she asks incredulously. "Damn, didn't know you had it in you to do that Maggie," she chuckles. Maggie smiles.

"Well I did, and it was-" Emily waves her hands in the air.

"OK, THAT'S ENOUGH!" she yells, chuckling to herself. "It's not that big of a deal. It's not like we haven't done it befo-" She slaps her hands over her mouth to stop her from talking, but the other girls heard her. Elizabeth and Maggie laugh, while Dani looks at her a bit peeved out, and Carol smiles, looking down at the floor.

"You have?" Dani asks. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Is he good?" Maggie asks.

"How big is he?" Elizabeth adds on. Emily places her head in her hands, hiding her embarrassed grin.

"Oh, is shouldn't have said anything," she groans, shaking her head. She looks back up, her face completely read. "Do we have to talk about this?" Dani, Elizabeth, and Maggie all shake there heads, while Carol just shrugs. Personally, she didn't want to hear about her special nights with Daryl. She wanted her to be that person with Daryl, but as always, she wasn't.

"YES!" all three of them say at the same time. Elizabeth groans and looks away for a second before looking back at them, a shit eating grin on her face.

"He's amazing," she replies cheekily. All three girls laugh at this, and Emily's face reddens even more if possible. "Like, really good."

But over their laughter, they couldn't see nor hear the two people watching from above, in the high trees that hung over them.

* * *

**Thanks for being patient with this story lol. Thanks for reading and review! hope you enjoyed! Luv ya!**


	16. Authors Note

Hey guys! I know it's been a while since i really did this story, but i want to say that's because i'm ending it on a cliff hanger for the sequel. I'm going to be writing one sooner or later. Later rather then sooner because i'm focusing on my other story right now and on a new one. The sequel will probably be up by the end of the month or beginning of April. But don't worry. This story isnt going to end here. It will be continued in the next story. I'll post a note when i post it. Hope you all have enjoyed reading this story as it was fun to write and i cant wait to get to the sequel! Love you all! ~Ali 


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